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THE

3Lit)CS of t\)c faints

REV. S. BARING-GOULD

SIXTEEN VOLUMES

VOLUME THE FIRST

First F.diiion published iSj2

Scioiid Edition .... ,, ^Sqj

New and Reziiscd Edilion, 16 vols. ,, 191 4

i ' j2:;^>-~°'°=^'fa'i-?3TS=

.STI.VKR-C.lI.r MONSTRANCE,
111 the Treasury "( the Cathedral, Aix-la-Chapelle.

Jan. , Frontispiece.]

THE

Hi^es of tlje paints

BY THE

REV. S. BARING-GOULD, M.A.

With Introduction and Additional Lives of English

Martyrs, Cornish, Scottish, and Welsh Saints,

and a full Index to the Entire Work

New and Revised Edition

ILLUSTRATED BY -J? J ENGRAVINGS
VOLUME THE FIRST

EDINBURGH: JOHN GRANT

31 GEORGE IV BRIDGE
1914

^ ifi

(3^

a 5

Printed by PiALLAntyxe, Hansom if Co
at the Dallciiilync Press, Edinburgh

INCllMT rkCM.OCiUS.

Jan., p. v.]

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

TO FIRST EDITION
(1872)

|,HE LIVES OF THE SAINTS, which I
have begun, is an undertaking, of whose
difficulty few can have any idea. Let it
be remembered, that there were Saints in
every century, for eighteen hundred years; that their
Acts are interwoven with the profane history of their
times, and that the history, not of one nation only,
but of almost every nation under the sun ; that the
records of these lives are sometimes fragmentary,
sometimes mere hints to be culled out of secular
history; that authentic records have sometimes suf-
fered interpolation, and that some records are forgeries;
that the profane history with which the lives of the
Saints is mixed up is often dark and hard to be read ;
and then some idea may be formed of the difficulty of
this undertaking.

After having had to free the Acts of a martyr from
a late accretion of fable, and to decide whether the
passion took place under — say Decius or Diocletian,
Claudius the Elder, or Claudius the younger, — the
writer of a hagiology is hurried into Byzantine politics,
and has to collect the thread of a saintly confessor's

ij, ^ „^ ____ — ^

vi Authors Preface to First Edition

life from the tangle of political and ecclesiastical in-
trigue, in that chaotic period when emperors rose
and fell, and patriarchs succeeded each other with
bewildering rapidity. And thence he is, by a step,
landed in the romance world of Irish hagiology, where
the footing is as insecure as on the dark bogs of the
Emerald Isle. Thence he strides into the midst of
the wreck of Charlemagne's empire, to gather among
the splinters of history a few poor mean notices of
those holy ones living then, whose names have sur-
vived, but whose acts are all but lost. And then the
scene changes, and he treads the cool cloister of a
mediaeval abbey, to glean materials for a memoir of
some peaceful recluse, which may reflect the crystalline
purity of the life without being wholly colourless of
incident.

And then, maybe, he has to stand in the glare of
the great conflagration of the sixteenth century, and
mark some pure soul passing unscathed through the
fire, like the lamp in Abraham's vision.

That one man can do justice to this task is not to
be expected. When Bellarmine heard of the under-
taking of Rosweydus, he asked "What is this man's
age? does he expect to live two hundred years?"
But for the work of the Bollandists, it would have
been an impossibility for me to undertake this task.
But even with this great store-house open, the work
to be got through is enormous. BoUandus began
January with two folios in double columns, close print,
of 1 200 pages each. As he and his coadjutors pro-
ceeded, fresh materials came in, and February occupies
three volumes. May swelled into seven folios, Sep-

■*

>if — ^

A7itko7's Preface to First Edition vii

tember into eight, and October into ten. It was begun
in 1643, and the fifty-seventh volume appeared in 1861.

The labour of reading, digesting, and selecting from
this library is enormous. With so much material it is
hard to decide what to omit, but such a decision must
be made, for the two volumes of January have to be
crushed into one, not a tenth of the size of one of
BoUandus, and the ten volumes for October must
suffer compression to an hundredth degree, so as to
occupy the same dimensions. I had two courses open
to me. One to give a brief outline, bare of incident,
of the life of every Saint ; the other to diminish the
number of lives, and present them to the reader in
greater fulness, and with some colour. I have adopted
this latter course, but I have omitted no Saint of great
historical interest. I have been compelled to put aside
a great number of lesser known saintly religious,
whose eventless lives flowed uniformly in prayer, vigil,
and mortification.

In writing the lives of the Saints, I have used my
discretion, also, in relating only those miracles which
are most remarkable, either for being fairly well
authenticated, or for their intrinsic beauty or quaint-
ness, or because they are often represented in art,
and are therefore of interest to the archaeologist. That
errors in judgment, and historical inaccuracies, have
crept into this volume, and may find their way into
those that succeed, is, I fear, inevitable. All I can
promise is, that I have used my best endeavours to
be accurate, having had recourse to all such modern
critical works as have been accessible to me, for the
determining of dates, and the estimation of authorities.

VOL. I. b

*■

viii Authors Preface to Fwst Edition

Believing that in some three thousand and six hun-
dred memoirs of men, many of whose Hves closely
resembled each other, it would be impossible for me
to avoid a monotony of style which would become as
tedious to the reader as vexatious to myself, I have
occasionally admitted the lives of certain Saints by
other writers, thereby giving a little freshness to the
'book, where there could not fail otherwise to have
been aridity; but I have, I believe, in no case, inserted
a life by another pen, without verifying the authorities.

At the head of every article the authority for the life
is stated, to which the reader is referred for fuller
details. The editions of these authorities are not
given, as it would have greatly extended the notices,
and such information can readily be obtained from
that invaluable guide to the historian of the Middle
Ages, Potthast : Bibliotheca Historica Mcdii ^vi,
Berlin, 1862; the second part of which is devoted to
the Saints.

I have no wish that my work should be regarded as
intended to supplant that of Alban Butler. My line is
somewhat different from his. He confined his atten-
tion to the historical outlines of the saintly lives, and
he rarely filled them in with anecdote. Yet it is the
little details of a man's life that give it character, and
impress themselves on the memory. People forget
the age and parentage of S. Gertrude, but they re-
member the mouse running up her staff.

A priest of the Anglican Church, I have undertaken
to write a book which I hope and trust will be welcome
to Roman and Anglican Catholics, alike. It would
have been unseemly to have carried prejudice, imper-

Author s Preface to First Edition ix

tinent to have obtruded sectarianism, into a work like
this. I have been called to tread holy ground, and
kneel in the midst of the great company of the blessed ;
and the only fitting attitude of the mind for such a
place, and such society, is reverence. In reading the
miracles recorded of the Saints, of which the number
is infinite, the proper spirit to observe is, not doubt,
but discrimination. Because much is certainly apocry-
phal in these accounts, we must not therefore reject
what may be true. The present age, in its vehement
naturalism, places itself, as it were, outside of the
circle of spiritual phenomena, and is as likely to deny
the supernatural agency in a marvel, as a mediaeval was
Hable to attribute a natural phenomenon to spiritual
causes. In such cases we must consider the evidence
and its worth or worthlessness. It may be that, in
God's dealings with men, at a time when natural means
of cure were unattainable, the supernatural should
abound, but that when the science of medicine became
perfected, and the natural was rendered available to all,
the supernatural should, to some extent, at least, be
withdrawn.

Of the Martyrologies referred to, it may be as well
to mention the dates of the most important. That of
Ado is of the ninth century, Bede's of the eighth ; ^
there are several bearing the name of S. Jerome,
which differ from one another, they are forms of the
ancient Roman Martyrology. The Marty rology of
Notker (d. 912), of Rabanus Maurus (d. 856), of
Usuardus (875), of Wandalbert (circ. 881). The
general catalogue of the Saints by Ferrarius was
^ This only exists in an interpolated condition.

. *

Authors Preface to First Edition

published in 1625, the Martyrology of Maurolycus
was composed in 1450, and published 1568. The
modern Roman Martyrology is based on that of Usu-
ardus. It is impossible, in the limited space available
for a preface, to say all that is necessary on the various
Kalendars, and Martyrologies, that exist, also on the
mode in which some of the Saints have received
apotheosis. Comparatively few Saints have received
formal canonization at Rome ; popular veneration was
regarded as sufficient in the mediaeval period, before
order and system were introduced; thus there are
many obscure Saints, famous in their own localities,
and perhaps entered in the kalendar of the diocese,
whose claims to their title have never been authori-
tatively inquired into, and decided upon. There is also
great confusion in the monastic kalendars in appropri-
ating titles to those commemorated ; here a holy one
is called " the Venerable," there " the Blessed," and in
another " Saint." With regard also to the estimation
of authorities, the notes of genuineness of the Acts of
the martyrs, the testo whereby apocryphal lives and
interpolations may be detected, I should have been
glad to have been able to make observations. But
this is a matter which there is not space to enter
upon here.

The author cannot dismiss the work without ex-
pressing a hope that it may be found to meet a want
which he believes has long been felt ; for English
literature is sadly deficient in the department of
hagiology.

>^ ^

* iS

INTRODUCTION

TO THE

LIVES OF THE SAINTS

^ THE MARTYROLOGIES

MARTYROLOGY means, properly, a list
of witnesses. The martyrologies are cata-
logues in which are to be found the names
of the Saints, with the days and places of
their deaths, and generally with the distinctive char-
acter of their sanctity, and with an historic summary
of their lives. The name is incorrect if we use the
word " martyr " in its restricted sense as a witness
unto death. " Hagiology " would be more suitable,
as a martyrology includes the names of many Saints
who were not martyrs. But the term "Martyrology"
was given to this catalogue at an early age, when it
was customary to commemorate only those who were
properly martyrs, having suffered death in testimony
to their faith ; but it is not unsuitable if we regard as
martyrs all those who by their lives have testified to
the truth, as indeed we are justified in doing.

In the primitive Church it was customary for the

* »J.

xii Introduction

Holy Eucharist to be celebrated on the anniversary
of the death of a martyr — if possible, on his tomb.
Where in one diocese there were several martyrs, as,
for instance, in that of Caesarea, there were many days
in the year on which these commemorations were made,
and the Church — say that of Caesarea — drew up a
calendar with the days marked on which these festivals
occurred.

In his " Church History," Eusebius quotes a letter
from the Church of Smyrna, in which, after giving an
account of the martyrdom of their bishop, S. Polycarp,
the disciple of S. John the Divine, the Smyrnians
observe : " Our subtle enemy, the devil, did his utmost
that we should not take away the body, as many of us
anxiously wished. It was suggested that we should
desert our crucified Master, and begin to worship
Polycarp. Fools ! who knew not that we can never
desert Christ, who died for the salvation of all men,
nor worship any other. Him we adore as the Son
of God ; but we show respect to the martyrs, as His
disciples and followers. The centurion, therefore,
caused the body to be burned ; we then gathered his
bones, more precious than pearls, and more tried
than gold, and buried them. In this place, God
willing, we will meet, and celebrate with joy and glad-
ness the birthday of this martyr, as well in memory
of those who have been crowned before, as by his
example to prepare and strengthen others for the
combat." ^

S. Polycarp suffered in the year i66; he had been
ordained Bishop of Smyrna by S. John in 96. This

1 Euseb., "Hist Eccl.," lib. iv., cap. xv.

hi-

i^ — — ■*

Introductio7i xiii

passage is extremely interesting, for it shows us, in the
age following that of the apostles, the Church already
keeping the festivals of martyrs, and, as we may con-
clude from the words of the letter, over the tombs of
the martyrs. In this the Church was following the
pattern shown to S. John in vision ; for he heard the
cry of the souls of the martyrs reposing under the altar
in heaven. Guided, doubtless, by this, the Church
erected altars over the bodies of saints. Among the
early Christian writers there are two, S. Paulinus of
Nola, and Prudentius, whose testimony is of intrinsic
value, not only from its being curiously interesting, but
because it is so full and unequivocal as to the fact of
the tombs of the martyrs being used as altars.^ In
one of his letters to Severus, S. Paulinus encloses
some verses of his own composition, which were to
be inscribed over the altar under which was deposited
the body of S. Clavus, of whom the venerable prelate
says :

" Sancta sub seternis altaribus ossa quiescunt." *

Before describing the basilica of Nola, the Saint
proceeds to give a sketch of another but a smaller
church, which he had just erected in the town of Fondi.
After furnishing some details about this latter edifice,
he says, "The sacred ashes — some of the blessed
relics of the apostles and martyrs — shall consecrate
this little basilica also in the name of Christ, the Saint
of saints, the Martyr of martyrs, and the Lord of

^ S. Paulinus was born a.d. 353, and elected Bishop of Nola a.d. 409.
Prudentius was born A.D. 348.

"^ Ep. xii., ad Severum, " His holy bones 'neath lasting altars rest."

^ Ij.

>i<-

XIV

Introduction

lords." ^ For this church two inscriptions were com-
posed by Paulinus : one, to accompany the painting
with which he had adorned the apse ; the other, to
announce that portions of the rehcs of the Apostle
S. Andrew, of the Evangelist S. Luke, and of S.
Nazarius, and other martyrs, were deposited under
the altar. His verses may be thus rendered :

" In royal shrines, with purple marble graced,
Their bones are under lighted altars placed.
A holy band enshrined in one small chest,
Full mighty names within its tiny breast."

Prudentius visited not only the more celebrated
churches in Spain built over the bodies of the martyrs,
he being a Spaniard by birth, but he also visited those
of Italy and Rome on a journey made in 405. During
his residence in the capital of Christianity, the poet
frequented the catacombs; and he has bequeathed to
us a valuable record of what he there saw. In his
hymn in honour of S. Hippolytus, he tells us that he
visited the sepulchral chapel in which were deposited
the remains of the martyr ; and, after having described
the entrance into the cemetery, and the frescoes that
adorned it, he adds :

•' In gloomy cave the martyr's corpse is placed,
And there to God with sacred altars graced,
To give the sacrament the board is spread,
And zealous guard the holy martyr's bed.
The bones are resting in this hallowed tomb,
To wait th' eternal Judge's gracious boon ;
And there with holy food are nourished those
Who call on Christ where tawny Tiber flows.'"'

^ Ep. xii., ad Severum.

Hymn xi.

*- ^

Introduction xv

In his other hymns, Prudentius bears the most
unequivocal testimony to the practice, even then a long
time in use, of depositing the relics of the Saints
immediately under the altar. It is unnecessary to
quote more. The assertions of ancient writers on this
point have been several times verified. The bodies of
the martyrs have been discovered under the high altars
of the churches dedicated to God in their memory.
The body of S. Martina, together with those of two
other martyrs, SS. Concordens and Epiphanius, were
found in 1624 under the high altar of the ancient
church near the Roman Forum, which bears the
name of the Saint. The body of S. Agnes, and that
of another virgin martyr, were also ascertained to
be under the high altar of her church, denominated
Fuori delle Mura. These, however, had all been
removed from the Catacombs into Rome, within the
walls.

Now this fact being established, as well as that of
the annual commemoration of the Saint reposing in the
church, it follows that it became necessary for a Church
to draw up calendars marking those days in the year
which were consecrated to the memory of martyrs
whose relics were preserved in it ; for instance, in
the Church of Fondi, which contained relics of S.
Andrew, S. Luke, S. Nazarius, and others, the Holy
Eucharist would be celebrated over the relics on the
day of S. Andrew, on that of S. Luke, on that of
S. Nazarius, and so on ; and it would be necessary
for the Church to have a calendar of the days thus
set apart.

In the first centuries of the Church, not only the

Saints whose bodies reposed in the church, but also
the dead of the congregation were commemorated.

When a Roman Consul was elected, on entering
on his office he distributed among his friends certain
presents, called diptychs. These diptychs were fold-
ing tablets of ivory or boxwood, sometimes of silver,
connected together by hinges, so that they could be
shut or opened like a book. The exterior surface
was richly carved, and generally bore a portrait of the
Consul who gave them away. Upon the inner surface
was written an epistle which accompanied the present,
or a panegyric on himself. They were reminders to
friends, given much as a Christmas card is now sent.
The diptych speedily came into use in the Church.
As the Consul on his elevation sent one to his friends
to remind them of his exaltation, so, on a death in the
congregation, a diptych was sent to the priest as a
reminder of the dead who desired the prayers of the
faithful. At first, no doubt, there was a pack of these
little memorials, each bearing the name of the person
who desired to be remembered at the altar. But, for
convenience, one double tablet was after a while
employed instead of a number, and all the names of
those who were to be commemorated were written in
this book. From the ancient liturgies we gather that
it was the office of the deacon to rehearse aloud, to
the people and the priest, this catalogue registered in
the pubHc diptychs. In the " Ecclesiastical Hier-
archy," attributed to S. Dionysius the Areopagite, but
really of a later date, the end of the fifth century, the
author says of the ceremonies of the Eucharist, that
after the kiss of peace, "When all have reciprocally

Introduction xvii

saluted one another, there is made the mystic recitation
of the sacred tablets." ^ In the Liturgy of S. Mark we
have this, "The deacon reads the diptychs (or cata-
logue) of the dead. The priest then bowing down
prays : To the souls of all these, O Sovereign Lord
our God, grant repose in Thy holy tabernacle, in
Thy kingdom, bestowing on them the good things
promised and prepared by Thee," etc.

It is obvious that after a while the number of names
continually swelling would become too great to be
recited at once. It became necessary, therefore, to
take some names on one day, others on another. And
this originated the Necrologium, or catalogue of the
dead. The custom of reading the diptychs has ceased
to be observed in the Roman Liturgy, though we find
it indicated there by the "Oratio supra Diptycha."
At present, when the celebrating priest arrives at that
part of the Canon called the "Memento," he secretly
commemorates those for whose souls he more par-
ticularly wishes to pray.

But, in addition to the diptychs of those for whom
the priest and congregation were desired to pray, there
was the catalogue of the Martyrs and Saints for whom
the Church thanked God. For instance, in the modern
Roman Mass, in the Canon we have this commemora-
tion: "Joining in communion with, and reverencing,
in the first place, the memory of the glorious and ever-
virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ ;
as also of Thy blessed apostles and martyrs, Peter and
Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip,
Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Thaddaeus ; Linus,
^ " Eccl. Hierarch.," cap. iii.

•j, ^

^ *

xviii Introduction

Cletus, Clement, Xystus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Laurence,
Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and
of all Thy Saints," etc. This is obviously a mere frag-
ment of a commemoration of the Blessed Virgin, of the
apostles, and then of the special Roman martyrs. The
catalogue of the Saints to be remembered was long;
there were hundreds of martyrs at Rome alone, and
their names were written down on sacred diptychs
especially appropriated to this purpose. Such an in-
scription was equivalent to the present ceremony of
canonization. The term canonization itself tells the
history of the process. It is derived from that part
of the Mass called the Canon, in which occurs that
memorial already quoted. On the day when the
Pope, after a scrutinizing examination into the sanctity
of a servant of God, formally inscribes him among
the Saints, he adds his name at the end of those
already enumerated in the Canon, after " Cosmas
and Damian," and immediately reads Mass, adding
this name at this place. Formerly every bishop
could and did canonize — that is, add the name of
any local Saint or martyr worthy of commemoration
in his diocese.

When the list became long, it was found impracti-
cable to commemorate all nominatim at once, and the
Saints were named on their special days. Thus, out
of one set of diptychs grew the Necrologium, and out
of the other the Martyrology.

The Church took pains to collect and commit to
writing the acts of the martyrs. This is not to be
wondered at; for the martyrs are the heroes of
Christianity, and as the world has her historians to

Introdtiction xix

record the achievements of the warriors who have
gained renown in conflict for power, so the Church
had her officers to record the victories that her sons
won over the world and Satan. The Saints are the
elect children of the spouse of Christ, the precious
fruit of her body ; they are her crown of glory. And
when these dear children quit her to reap their
eternal reward, the mother retains precious memorials
of them, and holds up their example to her other
children to encourage them to follow their glorious
traces.

The first to institute an order of scribes to take
down the acts of the martyrs was S. Clement, the
disciple of S. Peter, as we are told by Pope S.
Damasus, in the "Liber Pontificale." ^ According to
this tradition, S. Clement appointed seven notaries,
men of approved character and learning, to collect in
the city of Rome, each in his own region of the city,
the acts of the martyrs who suffered in it. To add to
the guarantee of good faith. Pope S. Fabian ^ placed
these seven notaries under the control of the seven
subdeacons, who with the seven deacons were placed
over the fourteen cardinal regions of the city of Rome.
Moreover, the Roman Pontiffs obtained the acts of
martyrs who had suffered in other churches. These
acts were the proces verbal of their trial, with the
names of the judges under whom they were sentenced,
and an account of the death endured. The acts of
S. Philip of Heraclea, SS. Hilary and Tatian, and
SS. Peter, Paul, Andrew, and Dionysia, are examples

^ S. Damasus was born a.d. 304, and died A.D. 384.
^ He died a.d. 250 ; see Ep. i.

►j, — ^P

->^

XX Introduction

of such acts. Other acts were those written by eye-
witnesses, sometimes friends of the martyrs ; those of
the martyrs, SS. Perpetua, FeHcitas, and their com-
panions are instances. The first part of these was
written by S. Perpetua herself, and reaches to the
eve of her martyrdom ; then another confessor in the
same prison took the pen and added to the eve of
his death, and the whole was concluded by an eye-
witness of their passion. Other acts again were
written by those who, if not eye-witnesses, were
able, from being contemporaries and on the spot, to
gather reliable information ; such are the narratives
of the martyrs of Palestine by Eusebius, Bishop of
Ceesarea, Unfortunately, comparatively few of the
acts of the martyrs have come down to us in their
genuine freshness; and the Church of Rome, which
set the example in appointing notaries to record the
facts, has been most careless about preserving these
records unadulterated ; so that even the acts of some
of her own bishops and martyrs, S. Alexander, and
S. MarcelHnus, and S. Callixtus, are romances devoid
of all stamp of truth.

TertuUian^ says that on the natal days, that is, on
the days of martyrdom of the Saints who have suffered
for Christ, " We keep an annual commemoration." It
is easy to see how this usage necessitated the drawing
up of lists in which were inscribed not only the names
of the martyrs, and the place of their decease, but also
a few words relative to their conflict, so that the people
might associate their names with their victories, and
the names might not become, in time, to them empty
' Born A.D. i6o, died A.D. 245.

»J< ^

* ^— *

Introduction xxi

sounds. S. Cyprian was absent from Carthage when
the persecution was raging there, but he wrote to his
clergy, "Note the days of their death, that we may
celebrate their commemorations along with the memo-
rials of the martyrs." ^ S. Augustine says,^ *' The
Christian people celebrate the memory of the martyrs
with religious solemnity, both to excite to imitation,
and that they may become fellows in their merits and
be assisted by their prayers."

Adrian I. quotes the 13th Canon of the African
Church and the 47th of the third Carthaginian Council,
in a letter to Charlemagne, in which he says, "The
Sacred Canons approved of the passions of the Holy
Martyrs being read in Church when their anniversary
days were being celebrated."

The names of the martyrs to be commemorated
were announced on the eve. By degrees other names
besides those of martyrs were introduced into the
Martyrologies, as those of faithful servants of God
whose lives were deserving of imitation, but who had
not suffered to the death in testimony to the truth.
Thus we have confessors, or those who endured
hardships for Christ, doctors, or teachers of the
Church, virgins, widows, bishops and abbots, and
even penitents.

The Martyrologies may be divided into two series,
the ancient and the modern. We need only concern
ourselves with the Ancient Martyrologies.

The first to draw up a tolerably full Martyrology
was Eusebius the historian, Bishop of Caesarea in
Palestine, and he did this at the request of the Emperor
^ Ep. xxxvii. * Lib. xx., contra Faustum, cap. xxi.

(J, — *

xxii Introduction

Constantine. In this Martyrology he noted all the
martyrs of whom he had received an authentic account
on the days of their suffering, with the names of the
judges who sentenced them, the places where they
suffered, and the nature of their sufferings. Eusebius
wrote about A.D. 320, but there were collections of
the sort already extant, as we may learn from the
words of S. Cyprian already quoted, who in his in-
structions to his clergy ordered them to compile what
was practically a Martyrology of the Carthaginian
Church.

We have not got the Greek Martyrology of Eusebius,
but we have the Latin version made by S. Jerome.
Bede says of this, "Jerome was not the author, but
the translator of this book ; Eusebius is said to have
been the author."

But even this Latin version has not come down to
us in its original form. There are numerous copies,
purporting to be the Martyrology of S. Jerome, still
extant, but hardly two of them agree. The copies have
been amplified. The occasion of S. Jerome making his
translation was as follows. At the Council of Milan,
held in 390, the presiding Bishop, Gregory of Cordova,
read out daily on the eve, as usual, the lists of martyrs
whose anniversary was to be celebrated on the morrow.
As a good number of those present knew nothing of
the martyrs thus commemorated, they wrote by the
hands of Chromatins, Bishop of Aquileja, and Helio-
dorus. Bishop of Altino, to S. Jerome, then at Beth-
lehem, to request him to draw up for their use a
Martyrology out of the collection made by Eusebius
of Caesarea.

^ 1^

Introduction xxiii

To this S. Jerome answered by letter, stating that
he had got the passions of the martyrs written by
Eusebius, and that he would gladly execute what was
asked of him. With this letter he sent the Martyr-
ology, with the name of a martyr to every day in the
year except the first of January.^ Unfortunately, as
already said, we have not got a copy of the Martyrology
unamended and unenlarged.

The " Martyrologium Romanum Parvum," on which
Ado of Vienne pretended to have based his Martyr-
ology, and which was published by Rosweydus, the
learned BoUandist, in 1613, is now entirely discredited.
It was a forgery of Ado concocted before he became
Bishop of Vienne — but of this more presently.

Cassiodorus, in his " Institution of Divine Lessons,"
says, " Read constantly the passions of the martyrs,
which among other places you will find in the letter
of S. Jerome to Chromatins and Heliodorus ; they
flourished over the whole earth, and provoked to
imitation ; you will be led thereby to the heavenly
kingdom."

The next Martyrology of any importance to that
of Jerome, is one composed by the Venerable Bede.
In the catalogue of his own works that he drew up,
he says : " I wrote a Martyrology of the natal days of
the holy martyis, in which I took care to set down
all I could find, not only on their several days, but I
also gave the sort of conflict they underwent, and
under what judge they conquered the world."

1 The copies of these letters prefixed to the Martyrology vary greatly,
and their authenticity has been questioned ; bui the circumstance is
probably true.

VOL. I. C

xxlv Introduction

If we compare this Martyrology with the Acts of
the Martyrs, we see at once that Bede took his ac-
count from them verbatim, merely condensing the
narrative.

The Martyrology of Bede was written about 720;
Drepanius Florus, a priest of Lyons, who died 860,
added to it considerably, and most of the copies of
Bede's Martyrology that we have are those enlarged
by Florus.

The next martyrologist is Ado, Bishop of Vienne,
who has been already mentioned in connection with
the " Martyrologium Parvum." Ado was born about
the year 800, and died in 875. In his preface, Ado
says : " For this work of noting on their proper days
the nativities of the Saints, which are generally found
confusedly in calendars, I have made use of a vener-
able and very ancient Martyrology, at Aquileja, sent to
a certain holy bishop by the Roman Pontiff, and this
was lent me, when at Ravenna, for a few days by a
certain religious brother. This I diligently copied,
and thought to place it at the head of my work. I
have, however, inserted the passions of the Saints
somewhat longer in this Martyrology, for the use of
the infirm brothers, and those less able to get at books,
that they may be able to read out of a little book a
compendium to the praise of God and the memory of
the martyrs, instead of overhauling a host of big
volumes with much labour." The assertion of Ado
was false. It was a fraudulent assertion, as has been
conclusively demonstrated by Dom Quentin in " Les
Martyrologes historiques," 1908.

S. Gregory the Great, in his 29th Epistle, says:

^^-

->i<

Inti'odiiction xxv

" We have the names of nearly all the martyrs with
their passions set down on their several days, collected
into one volume, and we celebrate the Mass daily in
their honour." On this passage Ado pretended to
base his work. Actually, it was based on the Martyr-
ology of Lyons, itself founded on that of Bede.

The next martyrologist was Usuardus, monk of
Saint-Germain-des-Pres, who died in 876. He wrote
his Martyrology at the request of Charles the Bald,
who was dissatisfied with the Martyrologies of Jerome
and of Bede because they were too short in their
narratives, and also because several days in the
calendar were left blank. This account, which Usu-
ardus gives in his preface, does not tally with the
words of the epistle attributed to S. Jerome that
precedes his Martyrology ; and leads to the suspi-
cion that this portion of the epistle, at least, is not
genuine. Usuardus certainly used the Martyrologies
of Ado and Florus as the basis of his work. This
compilation of Usuardus was so full, that it displaced
the earlier Martyrologies in a great many churches.
The best edition of the Martyrology of Usuardus is
that of Solerius, Antwerp, 1714-1717. The modern
Roman Martyrology is founded upon that of Usuardus.

Usuardus was followed by Wandelbert, monk of
Prum, who died in 870. Wandelbert followed the
Martyrologies of SS. Jerome and Bede, as amplified
by Florus, and wrote the notices of the martyrs in
hexameter Latin verses. This monument of patience
is composed of about 360 metrical pieces, of which
each contains the life of the Saint commemorated on
the day. To these, which form the bulk of the work.

>J«-

xxvi Introduction

are prefixed others of less importance, prefaces, dedi-
catory epistles to Lothair, preliminary discourses on
the importance of the Martyrology, on the knowledge
of times and seasons, months and days, etc. Although
Wandelbert wrote for the most part in hexameters,
he abandoned them occasionally for lyric metres, which
he managed with less facility. D'Ach6ry published
this Martyrology in his " Spicilegium," but the edition

is a bad one.

There have been many later Martyrologies, but these
are of far inferior importance, and need not be here
enumerated. In the East, the Greeks had anciently
their collections. That of Eusebius probably formed
the basis of later Menologies. In the Horology are
contained calendars of the Saints for every day with
prayers; this portion of the Horology is called the
Menology.

The Menology is divided into months, and contains
the lives of the Saints, in abridgment, for each day,
or the simple commemoration of those whose acts
are extant. The Menology of the Greeks is, therefore,
much the same as the Latin Martyrology, and there
are almost as many Menologies as there are Martyr^
ologies. The principal is that of the Emperor Basil II.
(d. 1025), published by Ughelli in his "Italia Sacra."
The larger Menologies are entitled " Synaxaria," be-
cause they were read in the churches on days of
assembly. These lives are very long, and the Men-
ology contains the substance in a condensed form.

The modern Roman Martyrology was drawn up by
order of Pope Gregory XIII., who appointed for the
purpose eight commissaries, amongst whom was Baro-

* »J«

Introduction xxvii

nius. It leaves much to be desired, as it bristles with
inaccuracies. A fresh edition was issued with some
corrections by Benedict XIV. It demands a careful
revision. Many of its inaccuracies have been pointed
out in the course of this work.

It is impossible to dismiss the subject of Martyr-
ologies without a word on the "Acta Sanctorum" of
the Bollandists. This magnificent collection of Lives
of the Saints is arranged on the principle of the
Synaxarium, or Martyrology — that is to say, the Saints
are not given in their chronological order, but as they
appear in the calendar.

Heribert Resweidus, of Utrecht, was a learned Jesuit
father, born in 1563, who died 1629. In 1607 he pub-
lished the " Fasti sanctorum quorum vitae manuscriptas
in Belgio," a book containing the plan of a vast work
on the lives of all the Saints, which he desired to
undertake. In 1613 he published "Notes on the old
Roman Martyrology," which he was the first to dis-
cover. In 161 5 he brought out the "Lives of the
Hermits," and in 1619 another work on the "Eremites
of Palestine and Egypt." In 1626 he published the
" Lives of the Virgin Saints." He died before the
great work for which he had collected, and to which
he had devoted his time and thoughts, was begun.
But the project was not allowed to drop. It was taken
up by John Bollandus, another Jesuit ; with him were
associated two other fathers of the same order, Hen-
schenius and Papebrock, and in 1643 appeared the
January volumes, two in number. In 1648 the three
volumes of the February Saints issued from the press.
Bollandus died in 1665, ^^^d the March volumes, three

^ 1^

xxviii Introduction

in number, edited by Henschenius and Papebrock,
appeared in 1668. As the work proceeded, material
came in in abundance, and the work grew under their
hands. May was represented by seven volumes; so
also June, July, and August. The compilation is not
yet complete. But a large store of material has been
accumulated, that serves for the remaining volumes,
and which is also poured forth in the quarterly issues
of the "Annalecta BoUandiana," of which thirty-two
volumes have been issued up to the end of 191 3.
Naturally, the earlier volumes of the "Acta Sanc-
torum " are very incomplete, and deserve to be en-
tirely recast and to be greatly amplified.

The principle on which the Bollandists have worked
is an excellent one. They have not themselves written
the lives of the Saints, but they publish every scrap
of record, and all the ancient acts and lives of the
Saints that are extant. The work is a storehouse of
historical materials. To these materials the editors
prefix an introductory essay on the value and genu-
ineness of the material, and on the chronology of
the Saint's life. They have done their work con-
scientiously and well. Only occasionally have they
omitted acts or portions of lives which they have
regarded as mythical or unedifying. These omissions
are to be regretted, as they would have been in-
structive.

Another valuable repository of the lives of Saints is
Mabillon's " Collection of the Acts of the Saints of the
Order of S. Benedict," in nine volumes, published
1668-1701. The arrangement in this collection is by
centuries. Theodoric Ruinart, in 1689, published the

Introduction xxix

Acts of the Martyrs, but not a complete series ; he
selected only those which he regarded as genuine.

With regard to England, there is a Martyrology of
Christ Church, Canterbury, written in the thirteenth
century, and now in the British Museum (Arundell
MSS., No. 68) ; also a Martyrology written between
1220 and 1224, from the south-west of England ; this
also is in the British Museum (MSS. Reg. 2, A. xiii.).
A Saxon Martyrology, incomplete, is among the Har-
leian MSS. (2785) in the same museum. It dates
from the fourteenth century. There is a transcript
among the Sloane MSS. (4938), of a Martyrology of
North English origin, but this also is incomplete. There
are others, later, of less value. The most interesting
is "The Martiloge in Englysshe, after the use of the
chirche of Salisbury," printed by Wynkyn de Worde
in 1526, reissued by the "Henry Bradshaw Society"
in 1893. To these Martyrologies must be added the
"Legenda" of John of Tynemouth, A.D. 1350; that of
Capgrave, A.D. 1450, his "Nova Legenda," printed in
1 5 16, and recently edited by Horstmann, 1901 ; Whit-
ford's "Martyrology," 1526, reprinted by the Henry
Bradshaw Society, 1891 ; Wilson's " Martyrologue,"
1st edition, 1608, 2nd edition, 1640; and Bishop
Challoner's " Memorial of Ancient British Piety,"
1761. Recently the Rev. Richard Stanton, Priest of
the Oratory, London, has issued an invaluable " Martyr-
ology of England and Wales," 1887.

Scottish Kalendars have been reprinted and com-
mented on, and brief lives of the Saints given by the
late Bishop Forbes of Brechin, in " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," Edinburgh, 1872.

^ ,j(

The Welsh and Cornish Saints have been taken in
hand by the Author and the Rev. John Fisher, B.D.,
and their Lives have been pubhshed in four volumes
by the Cj'mmrodorion Society.

May 1 9 14.

S. BARING-GOULD.

CONTENTS

Adalhardt .... 34
Adelelm . . . .465

Adrian 128

Aelred 176

Agatho 137

Agnes 317

Aidan 471

Aldegund . . . .464

Aldric 96

Alexander Acoeme-

tus . .
SS. Anastasius

22i

and

comp. .... 334
B. Angela of Foligni . 63
S. Anteros .... 38
„ Anthony .... 249
„ Apollinaris Synclet. 70
„ Apollo ..... 372
Arcadius .... 162
Archelaa and others 278

P.\GE

S. Artemas .... 370

Asclas 346

Athanasius . . ' . 38

Atticus 100

Audifax 285

Augurius ... . 312

Babylus . . .

361

Baldwin . . .

112

Balthazar . . .

148

Barsas of Edessa

464

Bassian of Lodi .

286

Bathild ....

394

Benedict Biscop

167

Bertilia ....

=^1

SS.

Blaithmac and comp

. 289

Brithwald . . .

131

-'^ .

XXXII

Contents

S. Cadoc ....

,, Cassaria . . •

„ Canute Lavard .

„ Cedd ....

,, Ceolwulf . . .

„ Charlemagne. .

„ Christiana . . .
Circumcision, The .

S. Clement of Ancyra

„ Concord . . .
Conversion of S. Paul

S. Cyriacus . . .

„ Cyril, Alexandria

„ Cyrinus . . .
SS. Cyrus, John, and
others . . . .

S. Dafrosa
„ Datius .
„ Deicolus
„ Devota .
„ Domitian

PAGE
167

91
236

437
146

I
347

3
370

163
418

44
469

57
210
280

399
136

S. Egwin 160

SS. Elvan and Mydwyn
Epiphany, The

S. Enninold ,

„ Eulogius

„ Euthymius

„ Eutropius

312

305

163

Fabian 299

Fechin 310

Felix 199

Fillan 127

Francis of Sales . . 443
Frodobert . . . .112
Fructuosus . .312
Fulgentius ... 10
Fursey 243

Gaudentius
Genoveva .
Genulph .
Gerlach
Germanicus
Gildas . .
Gonsalvo .
Gordius
B. Gotfried .

334
46
247
81
284
440
142

42
194

S. Gregory of Langres 58
„ Gudula 115

S. Habakkuk. . .
,, Henry ....
SS. Hermylus and Stra
tonicus . .
S. Hilary . . .
„ Honoratus
„ Hyacintha
„ Hyginus . .

285

245

179
182
240
466
149

S. Isidore 228

S. James (Tarantaise) 242
James the Penitent 433
John the Almsgiver 348
John the Calybite . 233
John Chrysostom . 400
John of Therouanne 415
Julian of Le Mans . 398
SS. Julian and comp. . 121

S. Justina 133

SS. Juventineand Maxi-

mus 371

S. Kentigern

187

Contents

XXXlll

PAGE
287
119
278

413

Launomar ....
Laurence Justiniani
Leobard ....
Lucian of Antioch .
Lucian of Beauvais
Lupus of Chalons .

Macarius, Alexandria 28

Macarius, Egypt . 221

Macedonius

Macra .

Macrina

SS.

SS,

Marcella
Marcellus
Marcian
Marciana
Mares .

Maris and others
Martha ....
Martyrs at Lichfield
Martyrs in the The
baid .

Maurus .
Maximus
Meinrad
Melanius
Melas .
Melor .
Mildgytha
Mochua or Cronan
Mochua or Cuan
Mosentius . . .

S. Nicanor

362
85

2Q.2
470
238

120

374

285

234
371
321

239

163

133

S. Odilo ...... 20

B. Ordorico . . . .211

S. Oringa 146

Palaemon . .
Palladius .
Patiens . . .
Patroclus . .
Paul. . . .
Paula . . ■
Paul and comp.
S. Paulinus . .
Pega . . .
Peter Balsam
Peter Nolasco
Peter of Canterbury
Peter of Sebaste
Peter's Chair
Pharaildis
Polycarp
Poppo .
Pra^jectus
Primus .
Prisca .
Priscilla

PAGE
149
417

384
277

43^
118

474

125

275
60

378
375
375
44
276

238

S. Raymund . . . -357
„ Rigobert . . . . 61
„ Rumon 57

S. Sabine 273

SS. Sabinian and Sabina 439

S. Salvius 160

SS. Satyrus and others. 163
S. Sebastian .... 300
„ Serapion .... 474
,, Sethrida . . . .138
„ Severinus . . . .101
„ Silvester . . . . 36
„ Simeon Stylites . . 72
„ Simeon the Old. • 383
SS. Speusippus and

others .... 246
S. Sulpicius Severus . 442

XXXIV

Contents

PACK

S, Susanna .... 278
„ Syncletica .... 67

S. Telemachus ... 7
„ Telesphorus ... 65
„ Thecla 278

SS. Thecla and Justina 133
S. Theodoric . . . . 4M
,, Theodosius . . -15'

SS. Theodulus & comp. 202
„ Theognis & comp. . 44
„ Theoritgitha . . . 397

SS. Thyrsus and comp. 416
„ Tigris and Eutro-

pius 163

S. Timothy . ■ • • 359

„ Titus 53

„ Tyllo 94

U
S. Ulphia 472

^ PAGE

S. Valentine .... 9°
„ Valerius of Treves . 439
„ Valerius (Saragossa) 417
„ Veronica of Milan . 196
„ Vincent . . . .331
„ Vitalis 156

W
B. Walter of Bierbeeke 341
S. William (Bourges) . 139

„ Wulsin 118

„ Wulstan .... 290

SS. Xenophon and Mary 389
„ XXXVIII Monks,

in Ionia. . . . I75

SS. Zosimus and Atha-

nasius .... 38

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Silver-gilt Monstrance .... Frontispiece

In the Treasury of the Cathedral, Aix-la-Chafelle.
INCIPIT PROLOGUS to face p. V

The Circumcision of Christ . . . . „ i

From the grand Vienna edition of the
" Missale Romamiin."

Oblation of an Infant to a Religious

Community onp. yj

S. Genoveva to face p. 48

Frovi " CaractMstiqties des Saints dans T Art
popiilaire t'niim^rees et expliquees," par le
P. Ch. Cahirr, de la Compagnie de Jesus,
^to. Paris, 1867.

S. Simeon Stylites ,,72

Fro/n Honk's " Everyday Book."

The Epiphany ... . . . „ 82

From the I'ienna Missal.

Worshippers at the Shrine of a Saint . o?ip.2>7
Adoration of the Magi .... to face p. 87

S. Cedd ,,91

Seal of the City of Brussels . . . . on p. 98

S. Genoveva ,,132

S. Egwin, Bp. of Worcester . . . to face p. 160

After Cahiek.

S. Benedict Biscop » 16S

XXXV
^— — ^

XXXVl

List of Illustrations

S. Aelred, Ab. of Rievaux

From a Design by A. Welby Pugin.

S. Odilo

S. Hilary Baptizing S. Martin of Tours

From a Window, dated 1528, in the Church of
S. Florentin, Yonne.

The Three Children in the Fiery Fur-
nace

From the Catacombs.

Seal of Robert Wishart, Bp. of Glas-
gow, 1272- 1316 ....

Hermit Saints— S. Anthony

Hermit Saint ....

From a Drawing by A. Welby Pugin,

S. Ceolwulf(?) ....

S. HONORlfe

After Cahier.

S. Anthony tortured by Demons

From the Design by Martin Schonguer.
The Chair of S. Peter in the Vatican
S. Peter's Commission, "Feed my Flock
The Apostolic Succession .
Baptism and Confirmation

From a Painting in the Catacombs.

S. Wulstan, Bp. of Worcester

From a Design by A. Welby Pugin

SS. Fabian and Sebastian .

to face p. 176

. on p. 178
to face p. 184

184

•

. on p. 198

• •

„ 214

•

to face p. 216

• •

. on p. 237

•

to face p. 240

• •

„ 252

ER.

TCAN

. on p. 274

OCK"

to face p. 274

•

„ 274

•

. on p. 2S3

•

to face p. 296

. on p. 298

^ ■ ^

List of Illustrations xxxvii

S. Sebastian tojacep. 304

From a Drawing by LuCAS ScHRAUDOLF.

The Peacock as a Christian Emblem . . 07t p. 311
S. Agnes tojacep.iib

From the Vienna Missal.

The Virgin Appearing to S, Ildephonsus , „ 356

After a Painting by Murillo in the Museum
at Madrid.

S. Timothy „ 360

From a \\'indo7u of the Eleventh Century at Xeuweiler.

S. Paul on p. 369

After a Bronze in Chi-istian Museum in the Vatican.

The Conversion of S. Paul . . . to face p. 370

After the Cartoon by Raphael.

Alpha axd Omega ; the First and the

Last cft p. 2,77

SS. Paula, Prisca, and Paul . . . to face p. 384

S. Bathild „ 394

S. Cyril of Alexandria „ 424

After the Picture by DOMINICHINO (or DOMINIQUIN")
in the Church of Grotta Ferrata, Rome.

S. Cyril of Alexandria „ 432

After Cahier.

Charlemagne and S. Louis . . . . „ 436

After a Picture in the Palais de Justice, Paris.

Baptism of Vanquished Saxons by Com-
mand of Charlemagne . . . . on p. 438

From a Miniature of the i^th Centu>y in the
Burgundy Library at Brussels.

^ 4<

xxxviii List of Illustrations

to face fi. 448
„ 460

. on p. 464

S. Francis of Sales ....
S. Aldegund

After Cahier.

Virgin in Crescent ....

After Albert DOrek.
S. Marcella to face p. 466

After an Engraving of the Seventee?ith Century.

S. Ulphia „ 468

From Cahier.

S. Peter Nolasco . . . , .
From Cahier.

» 470

■rill', CIRCUMCISIDN OF CHRIST.
I'l 1)111 tlu' "HUkI X'ii'nnn I'Mition of the " MisSLile Ronianuiii.

Jan., p. I.]

[Jan. I.

* >J<

Lives of the Saints

January 1.
K\)t iFcast of tfie (Circumcision of our Horti Jesus CC!jri'st.

S. Caspar, one of the Magi.

S. CoN'CORD, P. M., at Spoleto, in Untbria, circ. A.D. 175.

SS. Elvan, B., and Mvdwyn, in England, circ. A.D. 198.

S. Martina, V. 71/., at Rome, a.d. 235.

S. Paracodius, B. 0/ Vienne, a.d. 239.

S. Severus, M., at Ravenna, a.d. 304.

S. Telemachus, M., at Rome, a.d. 404.

S. FuLGENTiUS, B. C. o/Ruspe, in N. Africa, a.d. 533.

S. MocHUA, or CuAN, Ab. in Ireland, 6t/i cent.

S. MoCHUA, or Cronan, Ab. of Balla, in Ireland, yth cent.

S. EuGENDUJ, Ab. ofCondate, in t/U Jura, a.d. 581.

S. Fanchea, or Fain, V. Abss., ofRosairthir, in Ireland, tth cent.

S. Clare, Ab. of Vienne, circ. a.d. 660.

S. William, Ab. S. Benignus, at Dijon, A.D. 1031.

S. Odilo, Ab. Cluny, a.d. 1049.

THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD.

]HIS festival is celebrated by the Church in order
to commemorate the obedience of our Lord in
fulfilling all righteousness, which is one branch
of the meritorious cause of our redemption,
and by thai means abrogating the severe injunctions of the
Mosaic law, and placing us under the grace of the Gospel.

God gave to Abraham the command to circumcise all
male children on the eighth day after birth, and this rite was
to be the seal of covenant with Him, a token that, through
shedding of the blood of One to come, remission of the
original sin inherited from Adam could alone be obtained

VOL. I. X

>h-

Lives of the Saints. [January i.

It was also to point out that the Jews were cut off, and
separate, from the other nations. By circumcision, a Jew
belonged to the covenant, was consecrated to the service
of God, and undertook to believe the truths revealed by
Him to His elect people, and to hold the commandments to
which He required obedience. Thus, this outward sign
admitted him to true worship of God, true knowledge of
God, and true obedience to God's moral law. Circumcision
looked forward to Christ, who, by His blood, remits sin.
Consequently, as a rite pointing to Him who was to come,
it is abolished, and its place is taken by baptism, which also
is a sign of covenant with God, admitting to true worship,
true knowledge, and true obedience. But baptism is more
than a covenant, and therefore more than was circumcision.
It is a Sacrament ; that is, a channel of grace. By baptism,
supernatural power, or grace, is given to the child, whereby
it obtains that which by nature it could not have. Cir-
cumcision admitted to covenant, but conferred no grace.
Baptism admits to covenant, and confers grace. By circum-
cision, a child was made a member of God's ohti peculiar
people. By baptism, the same is done ; but God's own
people is now not one nation, but the whole Catholic Church.
Christ underwent circumcision, not because He had inherited
the sin of Adam, but because He came to fulfil all righteous-
ness, to accomplish the law, and for the letter to give the
spirit.

It was, probably, the extravagances committed among die
heathen at the kalends of January, upon which this day fell,
that hindered the Chinch for some ages from proposing it as
an universal set festival. The \vritings of the Fathers are full
of invectives against the idolatrous profanations of this day,
which concluded the riotous feasts in honour of Saturn, and
was dedicated to Janus and Strena, or Strenua, a goddess
supposed to preside over those presents which were sent to,

■>b

>J<-

January i.] S. ConCOKCl.

and received from, one another on the first day of the year,
and which were called after her, strense ; a name which is
still preserved in the etrennes, or gifts, which it is customary
in France to make on New Year's Day.

But, when the danger of the heathen abuses was removed,
by the establishment of Christianity in the Roman empire,
this festival began to be observed; and the mystery of our
Blessed Lord's Circumcision is explained in several ancient
homilies of the fifth century. It was, however, spoken of in
earlier times as the Octave of the Nativity, and the earliest
mention of it as the Circumcision is towards the end of the
eleventh century, shortly before the time of S. Bernard, who
also has a sermon upon it. In the Ambrosian Missal, used
at Milan, the services of the day contain special cautions
against idolatry. In a Gallican Lectionary, which is sup-
posed to be as old as the seventh century, are special lessons
" In Circumcisione Domini." Ivo, of Chartres, in 1090,
speaks of the observance of this day in the French Church.
The Greek Church also has a special commemoration of the
Circumcision.

S. CONCORD, P. M.
(about 175.)

[S. Concord is mentioned in all the Latin Martyrologies. His festival is
celebrated at Bispal, in the diocese of Gerona, in Spain, where his body
is said to be preserved, on the 2nd Jan. His translation is commemo-
rated on the 4th July. The following is an abridgment of his genuine
Acts. J

In the reign of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus, there
raged a violent persecution in the city of Rome. At that
time there dwelt in Rome a sub-deacon, named Concordius,
whose father was priest of S. Pastor's, Cordianus by name.
Concord was brought up by his father in the fear of God, and

v5-

4 Lives of the Saints. January i.

in the study of Holy Scripture, and he was consecrated sub-
deacon by S. Pius, Bishop of Rome. Concord and his father
fasted and prayed, and served the Lord instantly in the per-
son of His poor. When the persecution waxed sore, said
Concord to his father, " My lord, send me away, I pray thee,
to S. Eutyches, that I may dwell with him a few days, until
this tyranny be overpast." His father answered, " My son,
it is better to stay here that we may be crowned." But
Concord said, "Let me go, that I may be crowned where
Christ shall bid me be crowned." Then his father sent him
away, and Eutyches received him with great joy. With him
Concord dwelt for a season, fervent in prayer. And many
sick came to them, and were healed in the name of Jesus
Christ.

Then, hearing the fame of them, Torquatus, governor of
Umbria, residing at Spoleto, sent and had Concord brought
before him. To him he said, " What is thy name ?" He
answered, " I am a Christian." Then, said the Governor,
*' I asked concerning thee, and not about thy Christ." S.
Concord replied, " I have said that I am a Christian, and
Christ I confess." The Governor ordered : " Sacrifice to
tlie immortal gods, and I will be to thee a father, and will
obtain for thee favour at the hands of the Emperor, and he
will exalt thee to be priest of the gods." S. Concord said,
" Harken unto me, and sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt escape eternal misery." Then the governor ordered
him to be beaten with clubs, and to be cast into prison.

Then, at night, there came to him the blessed Eutyches,
with S. Anthymius, the bishop ; for Anthymius was a friend
of the governor ; and he obtained permission of Torquatus
to take Concord home with him for a few days. And
dunng these days he ordained him priest, and they watched
together in prayer.

And after a time, the governor sent and brought him

January i.] SS. Elvau and Mydwy'7i. 5

before him once more and said to him, " What hast thou
decided on for thy salvation?" Then Concord said,
" Christ is my salvation, to whom daily I offer the sacrifice
of praise." Then he was condemned to be hung upon the
little horse ; and, with a glad countenance, he cried, " Glory
be to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ !"

After this torment he was cast into prison, with irons on
his hands and neck. And blessed Concord began to sing
praise to God in his dungeon, and he said, " Glory be to
God on high, and in earth peace to men of good wall."
Then, that same night, the angel of the Lord stood by him,
and said, " Fear not to play the man, I shall be with thee."

And when three days had passed, the governor sent tvvo
of his officers, at night, to him with a small image of Jupiter.
And they said, " Hear what the governor has ordered ;
sacrifice to Jupiter or lose thy head." Then the blessed
Concord spat in the face of the idol, and said, " Glory be
to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ." Then one of the officers
smote off" his head in the prison. Afterwards, two clerks and
certain religious men carried away his body, and buried it not
far firom the city of Spoleto, where many waters flow forth.

SS. ELVAN AND MYDWYN. '
(about 198.)

[Mentioned in English Martyrologies, and by Ferrarius in his General
Catalogue of the Saints. The evidence for these Saints is purely tradi-
tional ; the first written record of them was by Gildas, A.D. 560, but his
account is lost. It is referred to by Matthew of Westminster.]

Saint Elvan of Avalon, or Glastonbury, was brought up
in that school erroneously said to have been founded by
S. Joseph of Arimathea. He vehemently preached the truth
before Lucius, a British king, and was mightily assisted by

*St

6 Lives of the Saints, [January I.

S. Mydwyn of Wales (Meduinus), a man of great learning.
Lucius despatched Elvan and Mydwyn to Rome, on an
embassy to Pope Eleutherius, in 179, who consecrated Elvan
bishop, and appointed Mydwyn teacher. He gave them, as
companions, two Roman clerks, Faganus and Deruvianus; or,
according to some, Fugatius and Damianus. They returned
with these to King Lucius, who was obedient to the word of
God, and received baptism along with many of his princes
and nobles. Elvan became the second archbishop of
London. He and Mydwyn were buried at Avalon. S.
Patrick is said to have found there an ancient account of the
acts of the Apostles, and of Fugatius and Damianus, written
by the hand of S. Mydwyn. Matthew of Westminster
gives the followng account of the conversion of Lucius,
under the year 185 : — "About the same time, Lucius, king
of the Britons, directed letters to Eleutherius, entreating him
that he would make him a Christian. And the blessed
pontiff, having ascertained the devotion of the king, sent to
him some religious teachers ; namely, Faganus and Deruvi-
anus, to convert the king to Christ, and wash him in the
holy font. And wher that had been done, then the dif-
ferent nations ran to baptism, following the example of the
king, so tliat in a short time there were no infidels found in
the island."

There is a considerable amount of exaggeration in this
account of Matthew of Westminster, which must not be
passed over. Lucius is known in the Welsh triads by the
name of Lleurwg, or Lleufer Ma^vr, which means " The great
Luminary," and this has been Latinized into Lucius, from
Lux, light. He was king of a portion of South Wales
only. The Welsh authorities make no mention of the
alleged mission to Rome, though, that such a mission should
have been sent, is extremely probable. Some accounts say
that Medwy and Elfan were Britons, and that Dyfan and

>&-

January i.] ^. Telemnchus. 7

Ffagan (Deruvianus and Faganus) were Roman priests, Bui
both these names are British, consequently we may conjecture
that they were of British origin, but resided then at Rome.

Four churches near Llandaf bore the names of Lleurwg
(Lucius), Dyfan, Ffagan, and Medwy, which confirais the
behef in the existence of these Saints, and indicates the scene
of their labours. Matthew of Westminster adds : — " A.D. 185.
The blessed priests, Faganus and Deruvianus, returned to
Rome, and easily prevailed on the most blessed Pope that
all that they had done should be confinned. And when it
had been, then the before-mentioned teachers returned to
Britain, with a great many more, by whose teaching the
nation of the Britons was soon founded in the faith of Christ,
and became eminent as a Christian people. And their
names and actions are found in the book that Gildas the his-
torian wTOte, concerning the victory of Aurelius Ambrosius."

Geoftrey, of Monmouth, who, unsupported, is thoroughly
untrustworthy, mentions the same circumstance, on the
authority of the treatise of Gildas, now lost. The embassy
to Rome shall be spoken of at length, under the title of
S. Lucius, December nth. See also Nennius, § 22 ; Bede's
Eccles. Hist. i. 4 ; and the Liber Landavensis, p. 65.

S. TELEMACHUS, H. M.

(about 404.)

The following account of the martrj^dom of S. Tele-
machus is given by Theodoret, in his Ecclesiastical History,
book v., chap. 26 : — " Honorius, who had received the empire
of Europe, abolished the ancient exhibitions of gladiators
in Rome on the following occasion : — A certain man,
named Telemachus, who had embraced a monastic life,
came from the East to Rome at a time when these cruel

8 Lives of the Sahits. uanuaryi.

spectacles were being exhibited. After gazing upon the
combat from the amphitheatre, he descended into the arena,
and tried to separate the gladiators. The bloodthirsty spec-
tators, possessed by the devil, who delights in the shedding
of blood, were irritated at the interruption of their savage
sports, and stoned him who had occasioned the cessation.
On being apprised of this circumstance, the admirable
Emperor numbered him with the victorious martyrs, and
abolished these iniquitous spectacles."

For centuries the wholesale murders of the gladiatorial
shows had lasted through the Roman empire. Human
beings, in the prime of youth and health, captives or slaves,
condemned malefactors, and even free-bom men, who hired
themselves out to death, had been trained to destroy each
other in the amphitheatre for the amusement, not merely of
the Roman mob, but of the Roman ladies. Thousands,
sometimes in a single day, had been

" Butchered to make a Roman holiday."

The training of gladiators had become a science. By their
weapons, and their armour, and their modes of fighting, they
had been distinguished into regular classes, of which the
antiquaries count up full eighteen : Andabatse, who wore hel-
mets, without any opening for the eyes, so that they were
obliged to fight blindfold, and thus excited the mirth of the
spectators ; Hoplomachi, who fought in a complete suit of
armour ; Mirmillones, who had the image of a fish upon
their helmets, and fought in armour, with a short sword,
matched usually against the Retiarii, who fought without
armour, and whose weapons were a casting-net and a
trident. These, and other species of fighters, were drilled
and fed in " families " by lanistae, or regular trainers, who
let them out to persons wishing to exhibit a show. Women,
even high-born ladies, had been seized in former times with

>i<-

January i.] S. TelcmackMS.

the madness of fighting, and, as shameless as cruel, had gone
down into the arena, to delight wth their owti wounds and
their o^vn gore, the eyes of the Roman people.

And these things were done, and done too often under
the auspices of the gods, and at their most sacred festivals.
So deliberate and organized a system of wholesale butchery
has never perhaps existed on this earth before or since, not
even in the worship of those Mexican gods, whose idols
Cortez and his soldiers found fed with human hearts, and
the walls of their temples crusted with human gore. Gradu-
ally the spirit of the Gospel had been triumphing over this
abomination. Ever since the time of TertuUian, in the
second century, Christian preachers and writers had lifted
up their voice in the name of humanity. Towards the end
of the third century, the Emperors themselves had so far
yielded to the voice of reason, as to forbid, by edicts, the
gladiatorial fights. But the public opinion of the mob, in
most of the great cities, had been too strong both for Saints
and for Emperors. S. Augustine himself tells us of the hor-
rible joy which he, in his youth, had seen come over the
vast ring of flushed faces at these horrid sights. The weak
Emperor Honorius bethought himself of celebrating once
more the heathen festival of the Secular Games, and form-
ally to allow therein an exhibition of gladiators. But, in the
midst of that show, sprang dovra into the arena of the Colos-
seum of Rome, this monk Telemachus, some said from Nitria,
some from Phrygia, and with his owti hands parted the com-
batants, in the name of Christ and God. The mob, baulked
for a moment of their pleasure, sprang on him, and stoned
him to death. But the crime was followed by a sudden re-
vulsion of feeling. By an edict of the Emperor, the gladia-
torial sports were forbidden for ever ; and the Colosseum,
thenceforth useless, crumbled slowly away into that vast
ruin which remains unto tliis day, purified, as men well said.

-•i*

lO Lives of tJlC Saints. [January i.

from the blood of tens of thousands, by the blood of this
true and noble martyr. ^

S. FULGENTIUS, B. C.

(a-d. 533-)

[Roman Martyrology and nearly all the Latin Martyrologies. His
life was written by one of his disciples, and addressed to his successor,
Fclicianus. Many of his writings are extant.]

FuLGENTius belonged to an honourable senatorial family
of Carthage, which had, however, lost its position with the
invasion of the Vandals into Northern Africa. His father,
Claudius, who had been unjustly deprived of his house in
Carthage, to give it to the Arian priest, retired to an estate
belonging to him at Telepte, a city of the province of Byza-
cene. And here, about thirty years after the barbarians had
dismembered Africa from the Roman empire, in the year 468,
was born Fulgentius. Shortly after this his father died, and
tlie education of the child devolved wholly on his mother,
Mariana. It has been often observed that gi-eat men have
had great mothers. Mariana was a woman of singular intelli-
gence and piety. She carefully taught her son to speak Greek
with ease and good accent, and made him learn by heart
Homer, Menander, and other famous poets of antiquity. At
the same time, she did not neglect his religious education, and
the youth grew up obedient and modest. She early com-
mitted to him the government of the house, and servants,
and estate ; and his prudence in these matters made his
reputation early, and he was appointed procurator of the
province.

But it was not long before he grew weary of the world ;
and tlie love of God drew him on into other paths. He

1 The Hermits, by Rev. C. Kingsley, p. 1J3, 154.

January i.] S. FulgeUtiuS. 1 I

found great delight in religious reading, and gave more time
to prayer. He was in the habit of frequenting monasteries,
and he much wondered to see in the monks no signs of
weariness, though they were deprived of all the relaxations
and pleasures which the world provides. Then, under the
excuse that his labours of office required that he should take
occasional repose, he retired at intervals from business, and
devoted himself to prayer and meditation, and reduced the
abundance of food with which he was serv'ed. At length,
moved by a sermon of S. Augustine on the thirty-sixth
Psalm, he resolved on embracing the religious life.

There was at that time a certain bishop, Faustus by name,
who had been driven, together with other orthodox bishops,
from their sees, by Huneric, the Arian king. Faustus had
erected a monastery in Byzacene. To him Fulgentius be-
took himself, and asked to be admitted into the monastery.
But the Bishop repelled him saying, " Why, my son, dost
tliou seek to deceive the servants of God ? Then wilt thou
be a monk when thou hast learned to despise luxurious food
and sumptuous array. Live as a layman less delicately, and
then I shall believe in thy vocation." But the young man
caught the hand of him who urged him to depart, and,
kissing it said, " He who gave the desire is mighty to en-
able me to fulfil it. Suffer me to tread in thy footsteps, my
father !" Then, -with much hesitation, Faustus suffered the
youth to remain, saying, " Perhaps my fears are unfounded.
Thou must be proved some days."

The news that Fulgentius had become a monk spread far
and wide. His mother, in transports of grief, ran to the
monastery, crying out, " Faustus ! restore to me my son,
and to the people their governor. The Church always pro-
tects widows ; why then dost thou rob me, a desolate widow,
of my child?" Faustus in vain endeavoured to calm her.
She desired to see her son, but he refused to give permis-

^ ^ ^

12 Lives of the Saints. [January..

sion. Fulgentius, from within, could hear his mother's cries.
This was to him a severe temptation, for he loved her
dearly.

Shortly after, he made over his estate to his mother, to be
discretionally disposed of, by her, in favour of his brother
Claudius, when he should arrive at a proper age. He
practised severe mortification of his appetite, totally abstain-
ing from oil and everything savoury, and his fasting produced
a severe illness, from which, however, he recovered, and his
constitution adapted itself to his life of abstinence.

Persecution again breaking out, Faustus was obliged to
leave his monastery, and Fulgentius, at his advice, took
refuge in another, which was governed by the Abbot Felix,
who had been his friend in the world, and who became now
his brother in religion. Felix rejoiced to see his friend once
more, and he insisted on exalting him to be abbot along
with himself Fulgentius long refused, but in vain ; and
the monks were ruled by these two abbots hving in holy
charity, Felix attending to the discipline and the bodily
necessities of the brethren, Fulgentius instructing them in
the divine love. Thus they divided the authority between
them for six years, and no contradictions took place between
them ; each being always ready to comply with the will of
the other.

In the year 499, the country being ravaged by the
Numidians, the two abbots were obliged to fly to Sicca
Veneria, a city of the proconsular province of Africa. Here
they were seized by orders of an Arian priest, and com-
manded to be scourged. Felix, seeing the executioners
seize first on Fulgentius, exclaimed, "Spare my brother,
who is not sufficiently strong to endure your blows, lest he
die under them, and strike me instead." Felix having
been scourged, Fulgentius was next beaten. His pupil
says, " Blessed Fulgentius, a man of deUcate body, and

■*-

^ . *

January i.] S. FulgentiuS. 1 3

of noble birth, was scarce able to endure the pain of
the repeated blows, and, as he aftei-wards told us, hoping
to soothe the violence of the priest, or distract it awhile,
that he might recover himself a little, he cried out, ' I will
say something if I am permitted.'" The priest ordered
the blows to cease, expecting to hear a recantation. But
Fulgentius, with much eloquence, began a narration of his
travels ; and after the priest had listened awhile, finding this
was all he was about to hear, he commanded the execu-
tioners to continue their beating of Fulgentius. After that,
the two abbots, naked and bruised, were driven away.
Before being brought before the Arian priest, Felix had
thrown away a few coins he possessed ; and his captors, not
observing this, after they were released, he and Fulgentius
returned to the spot and recovered them all again. The
Arian bishop, whose relations were acquainted with the
family of Fulgentius, was much annoyed at this proceeding
of the priest, and severely reprimanded him. He also urged
Fulgentius to bring an action against him, but the confessor
declined, partly because a Christian should never seek
revenge, partly also because he was unwilling to plead before
a bishop who denied the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fulgentius, resolving to visit the deserts of Egypt, renowTied
for the sanctity of the solitaries who dwelt there, went on
board a ship for Alexandria, but the vessel touching at Sicily,
S. Eulalius, abbot at Syracuse, diverted him from his inten-
tion, assuring him that " a perfidious dissension had severed
this country from the communion of S. Peter. All these
monks, whose marvellous abstinence is noised abroad, have
not got with you the Sacrament of the Altar in common ;"
meaning that Egypt was full of heretics. Fulgentius visited
Rome in the latter part of the year 500, during the entry of
Theodoric. "Oh," said he, "how beautiful must the
heavenly Jerusalem be, if earthly Rome be so glorious." h

* —

14 Lives of the SahltS. [January i.

short time after, Fulgentius returned home, and built himself
a cell on the sea-shore, where he spent his time in prayer,
reading and writing, and in making mats and umbrellas
of palm leaves.

At this time the Vandal heretic, King Thrasimund, having
forbidden the consecration of Catholic bishops, many sees
were destitute of pastors, and the faithful were reduced to
great distress. Faustus, the bishop, had ordained Fulgentius
priest, on his return to Byzacene, and now, many places de-
manded him as their bishop. Fulgentius, fearing this re-
sponsibility, hid himself; but in a time of such trial and
difficulty the Lord had need of him, and He called him to
shepherd His flock in a marvellous manner. There was a
city named Ruspe, then destitute of a bishop, for an influen-
tial deacon therein, named Felix, whose brother was a friend
of the procurator, desired the office for himself. But the
people, disapproving his ambition, made choice unanimously
of Fulgentius, of whom they knew only by report ; and upon
the primate Victor, bishop of Carthage, giving his consent
that the neighbouring bishops should consecrate him, several
people of Ruspe betook themselves to the cell of Fulgentius,
and by force compelled him to consent to be ordained.
Thus, he might say, in the words of the prophet, " A people
whom I have not known shall serve me."

The deacon, Felix, taking advantage of the illegality of the
proceeding, determined to oppose the entrance of S. Ful-
gentius by force, and occupied the road by which he pre-
sumed the bishop would enter Ruspe. By some means the
people went out to meet him another way, and brought him
into the Cathedral, where he was installed, whilst the deacon,
Felix, was still awaiting his arrival in the road. Then he
celebrated the Divine Mysteries, with great solemnity, and
communicated all the people. And when Felix, the deacon,

-.i<

January i.] kj . ^ "'''^

S. Fulgentijis. 15

heard this, he was abashed, and refrained from further
opposition. Fulgentius received him with great sweetness
and charity, and afterwards ordained him priest.

As bishop, S. Fulgentius lived like a monk ; he fed on the
coarsest food, and dressed himself in the plainest garb, not
wearing the orarium, which it was customary for bishops to
put upon them. He would not wear a cloak (casitla) of gay
colour, but one very plain, and beneath it a blackish, or
milk-coloured habit (pallium), girded about him. Whatever
might be the weather, in the monastery he wore this habit
alone, and when he slept, he never loosed his girdle. " In
the tunic in which he slept, in that did he sacrifice ; he may
be said, in time of sacrifice, to have changed his heart rather
than his habit." '

His great love for a recluse life induced him to build a
monastery near his house at Ruspe, which he designed to
place under the direction of his old friend, the Abbot Felix.
But before the building could be completed. King Thrasi-
mund ordered the banishment of the Catholic bishops to
Sardinia. Accordingly, S. Fulgentius and other prelates,
sixty in all, were carried into exile, and during their banish-
ment they were provided yearly with provisions and money
by the liberality of Symmachus, Bishop of Rome. A letter
of this Pope to them is still extant, in which he encourages
them, and comforts them. S. Fulgentius, during his retire-
ment, composed several treatises for the confirmation of the
faith of the orthodox in Africa. King Thrasimund, desirous
of seeing him, sent for him, and appointed him lodgings in

1 This passage has been quoted by some to show that at this period special vest-
ments were not in general use for the Eucharist, as an argument against their present
use. But it by no means appears from the passage quoted that Fulgentius did not
wear Eucharistic vestments. It simply says that he wore at jMass the habit he lived
and slept in. This is what monks and friars do now ; they put the vestment over the
habit.

-►^

1 6 Lives of the Saints. [January x.

Carthage. The king drew up a set of ten objections to the
CathoHc faith, and required Fulgentius to answer them.
The Saint immediately compHed with his request, and his
answer had such effect, that the king, when he sent him new
objections, ordered that the answers should be read to him-
self alone. He then addressed to Thrasimund a confutation
of Arianism, which we have under the title of " Three Books
to King Thrasimund." The prince was pleased with the
work, and granted him permission to reside at Carthage ; till,
upon repeated complaints from the Arian bishops, of the
success of his preaching, which threatened, they said, the
total conversion of the city to the faith in the Consubstantial,
he was sent back to Sardinia, in 520. He was sent on board
one stormy night, that he might be taken away without the
knowledge of the people, but the wind being contrary, the
vessel was driven into port again in the morning, and the
news having spread that the bishop was about to be taken
from them, the people crowded to say farewell, and he was
enabled to go to a church, celebrate, and communicate all
the faithful. Being ready to go on board when the wind
shifted, he said to a Catholic, whom he saw weeping,
"Grieve not, I shall bhortly return, and the true faith of
Christ will flourish again in this realm, with full liberty to
profess it ; but di\'nlge not this secret to any."

The event confirmed the truth of the prediction. Thrasi-
mund died in 523, and was succeeded by Hilderic, who gave
orders for the restoration of the orthodox bishops to tlieir
sees, and that liberty of worship should be accorded to tlie
Catholics.

The ship which brought back the bishops to Carthage was
received with great demonstrations of joy. The pupil of
die bishop, and eye-witness of the scene, thus describes it: — ■
"Such was the devotion of the Carthaginian citizens, desir-
ing to see the blessed Fulgentius again, that all the people

Janaary i.] S. FtllgeUtmS. I 7

ardently looked for him whom they had seen wrestle so man-
fully before them. The multitude, which stood upon the
shore, was silent in expectation as the other bishops disem-
barked before him, seeking with eyes and thoughts only him
whom they had familiarly known, and eagerly expecting him
from the ship. And when his face appeared, there broke
forth a huge clamour, all striving who should first salute him,
who should first bow his head to him giving the benediction,
who should deserve to touch the tips of his fingers as he
walked, who might even catch a glimpse of him, standing
afar off. From every tongue resounded the praise of God.
Then the people, going before and following after the proces-
sion of the blessed confessors, moved to the Church of S.
Agileus. But there was such a throng of people, especially
around Fulgentius, whom they especially honoured, that a
ring had to be formed about him by the holy precaution of
the Christians, to allow him to advance upon his way.
Moreover, the Lord, desiring to prove tlie charity of the
faithful, marvellously poured upon them, as they moved, a
heavy shower of rain. But the heavy down-pour deterred
none of them, but seemed to be the abundant benediction
of heaven descending on them, and it so increased their
faith, that they spread their cloaks above blessed Fulgentius,
and composed of their great love a new sort of tabernacle
over him. And the evening approaching, the company of
prelates presented themselves before Boniface, the bishop
(of Carthage) of pious memory, and all together praised and
glorified God. Then the blessed Fulgentius traversed the
streets of Carthage, visiting his friends and blessing them ; he
rejoiced with them that did rejoice, and wept with them that
did weep ; and so, having satisfied all their wishes, he bade
farewell to his brethren, and went forth out of Carthage,
finding on all the roads people coming to meet him in the
way with lanterns, and candles, and boughs of trees, and great

VOL, I. 7

^ . _ -)J<

-»J<

1 8 Lives of the Saints. [January i.

joy, giving praises to the ineffable God, who had wondrously
made the blessed Fulgentius well pleasing in the sight of all
men. He was received in all the churches as if he were
their bishop, and thus the people throughout Byzacene
rejoiced as one man over his retiu-n."

Arrived at Ruspe, S. Fulgentius diligently laboured to
correct what was evil, and restore what was fallen do\\'n,
and strengthen what was feeble in his diocese. The perse-
cution had lasted seventy years, so that many abuses had
crept in, and the faith of many was feeble, and ignorance
prevailed. He carried out his reformation with such gentle-
ness, that he won, sooner or later, the hearts of the most
vicious.

In a council, held at Junque, in 524, a certain bishop,
named Quodvultdeus, disputed the precedency with the
Bishop of Ruspe, who made no reply, but took the first
place accorded him by the council. However, S. Fulgentius
publicly desired, at the convention of another council, that
he might be allowed to yield the precedence to Quodviilt-
deus.

About a year before his death, the bishop retired from all
business, to prepare his soul for its exit, to a little island
named Circinia. The necessities of his flock recalled him,
however, to Ruspe for a little while.

He bore the violent pains of his last illness with great
resignation, praying incessantly, " Lord grant me patience
now, and afterwards pardon." He called his clergy about
him, and asked them to forgive him if he had shewn too
great severity at any time, or had offended them in any way,
and then, committing his soul into the hand of God as a
merciful Creator, he fell asleep in the evening of January
ist, A.D. 533, in his sixty-fifth year.

Relics, at Bourges, in France, where May 16 is observed
as the feast of his translation, in the year 714.

^ ^ ^

January i.] S. MocJllia. I Q

S. MOCHUA, OR CUAN.
(about 6th cent.)

[Commemorated in the ancient Irish Marty rologies on the l Ith xVpril ;
probably as being the day of his translation. But he died on Jan. ist.
The life of S. Mochua, in the Bollandists, is legendary, and is full of the
wildest fable.]

Saint Mochua was the son of a certain Cronan, of noble
race, and spent his youth in fighting. At the age of thirty,
he laid aside his arms, and burnt a house, with all its contents,
whicli had been given to him by his uncle, saying that a
servant of Christ should take nothing from sinners. Then he
settled at a spot called Teach Mochua. He is said to have
healed S. Finnan, or Munnu, of leprosy, and when S. Finnan
was about to return home, and his horse broke its leg, S.
Mochua summoned a stag out of the forest to come and
draw the vehicle, in place of the horse.

In his time, the first stone church was erected in Ireland
by S. Kieran, and during the building of the church, there
fell no rain to impede the masons, for the clouds were stayed
by the prayers of S. Mochua. He is said to have founded
thirty churches. To assist in drawing wood from the forest to
build these churches, Mochua called to his aid twelve stags,
which served as patiently and obediently as oxen. And
when his virtues drew to him many people and much praise,
the old man fled from place to place, for he considered that
the glory of this world would turn his heart from the glory
of the world to come. And when very aged, he escaped
with his oratory bell into a wild and mountainous part, and
there the clapper fell to the ground, at a place called
Dagrinnis. He was troubled in spirit, so bleak and lonely
did the place appear ; but an angel announced to him that
there he was to build a cell, and there to die ; and in this
spot he spent thirty years, and wrought many miracles, and
died in the ninety-ninth year of his age.

* *

►J, — _— ■ ^

20 Lives of the Saints. [January i.

It is difficult to clear the lives of many of the Irish Saints
from the fable wherewith lively imaginations have invested
them, in their oral transmission through many hundreds of
years,

S. MOCHUA, OR CRONAN, OF BALLA.

(7TH CENT.)

[The day of his death is unknown. He is here mentioned because of
the similarity of his name to that of S. Mochua, of Teacli Mochua. His
life is legendary.]

Saint Mochua, or Cronan, was the third son of Began, a
man of good family. As a child, he was despised by his
parents, and sent to keep sheep. But S. Congal, passing by
his father's house, called the boy to follow him, and made
him a monk. S. Mochua founded the monastery of Balla.
in Connaught. He departed to the Lord in the fifty-sixth
year of his age.

S. ODILO, AB. CLUNY.
(a.d. 1049.)

[Roman and Benedictine Marlyrologies. Two lives of S. Odilo are
extant, one written by Jotsald, a monk, who had lived under his rule,
and who wrote it for Stephen, the nephew of the Saint. The other, a
very inferior life, by S. Peter Damian. Both are printed in the Bollan-
dists, but the first is from an imperfect M.S. It was printed en^ire by
Mabillon, Acta SS. O. S. B.]

Odilo belonged to the family of Mercoeur, one of the most
illustrious of Auvergne. Jotsald says : — " In the beginning
of the account of his virtues I must relate what happened to
him as a boy. And lest it be thought incredible, I mention
that I heard it from those to whom he was wont to narrate
the circumstance. When he was quite a little boy in his
father's house, before he was sent to school, he was destitute

*^^-

^ __ — i^

January I.] S. OdUo. 21

of almost all power in his limbs, so that he could not walk or
move himself without help. It happened that one day his
father's family were moving to another place, and a nurse
was given charge of him to carry him. On her way, she put
the Httle boy down with her bundles before the door of a
church, dedicated to the Mother of God, as she and the
rest were obliged to go into some adjacent houses to pro-
cure food. As they were some while absent, the boy find-
ing himself left alone, impelled by divine inspirations, began
to try to get to the door and enter the Church of the
Mother of God. By some means, crawling on hands and
knees, he reached it, and entered the church, and went to
the altar, and caught the altar vestment with his hands ;
then, wth all his power, stretching his hands on high, he tried
to rise, but was unable to do so, his joints having been so
long ill-united. Nevertheless, divine power conquered,
strengthening and repairing the feeble limbs of the boy.
Thus, by the intervention of the Mother of God, he rose,
and stood upon his feet whole, and ran here and there
about the altar. The servants returning to fetch their bun-
dles, and not finding the child, were much surprised, and
looked in all directions, and not seeing him, became greatly
alarmed. However, by chance, entering the church, they
saw him rambling and nmning about it ; then they recog-
nised the power of God, and joyously took the boy in their
arms, and went to their destination, and gave him, com-
pletely whole, to his parents, with great gladness."

As a child, he showed singular simplicity, modesty, and
piety. *' Thus passed his childish years, and as the strength
of youth began to succeed to boyhood, he silently meditated
how to desert the flesh-pots of Egypt, and to strive to
enter the Land of Promise, through the trials of the world.
O good Jesu ! how sweet is Thy call ! how sweet the inspi-
ration of Thy Spirit, which as soon as Thou strikest on the

* ^

2 2 Lives of the Saints. uanuaryi.

heart, turns the fire of the Babylonish furnace into love of
the celestial country. So ! as soon as thou strikest the heart
of the youth, thou changest it." Wliilst he was thus medita-
ting, S. Majolus passed through Auvergne, and Odilo came
to him ; then the old man, looking on the graceful form and
comely face of the youth, and by the instinct of the Saints
seeing into his soul, he loved him greatly \ also the youthful
Odilo felt a great affection for the aged monk. And when
they spoke to one another, Odilo opened his heart to
Majolus, and the venerable man encouraged the youth to
persevere in his good intentions.

Shortly after, Odilo left his home, "as Abraham of old
went forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and sought admittance
into the abbey of Cluny, as into the Promised Land. O
good Jesu ! how pleasant it was to see this sheep shorn of
its Avorldly fleece, again ascend as from the baptismal font !
Then, wearing our habit, you might have seen our sheep
amongst the others of His flock, first in work, last in place,
seeking the pastures of eternal verdure ; attending to the
lamps, sweeping the floors, and doing other common offices.
But the pearl could not remain long concealed. After four
years, S. Majolus, after many hard labours borne for Christ,
went out of the darkness of Egypt, entered Jerusalem, and
was placed in eternal peace by Christ. As death approached,
he chose Odilo to be his successor, and to him and to the
Lord, he committed his flock." But S. Odilo shrank from
the position for which his youth, as he considered, disquali-
fied him ; however, he was elected by the whole community,
and was therefore unable to refuse the office wherewith he
was invested by the vote of the brethren, and the desire of
the late abbot.

His disciple, Jotsald, gives a very beautiful picture of his
master. He describes him as being of middle stature, with
a face beaming with grace, and full of authority ; very ema-

-H

>if-

January 1.1 S. OdUo. 23

ciated and pale ; his eyes bright and piercing, and often
shedding tears of compunction. Every motion of his body
was grave and dignified ; his voice was manly, and modu-
lated to the greatest sweetness, his speech straightforward
and without affectation or artificiality.

His disciple says that he would recite psalms as he lay on
his bed, and falling asleep, his lips would still continue the
familiar words, so that the brethren applied to him the
words of the bride, " I sleep but my heart waketh," Ego
dormio et cor meum vigilat. He read diligently, and nothing
gave him greater delight than study. His consideration for
others was very marked. " He was burdensome to none, to
none importunate, desirous of no honour, he sought not to
get what belonged to others, nor to keep what was his own."
His charity was most abundant ; often the brethren feared
that it exceeded what was reasonable, but they found that
though he gave largely, he did not waste the revenues of the
monastery. Once, in time of famine, he was riding along a
road, when he lit on the naked bodies of two poor boys
who had died of hunger. Odilo burst into tears, and des-
cending firom his horse, drew off his woollen under garment
and wrapping the bodies in it, carefully buried them. In this
famine he sold the costly vessels of the Sanctuary, and des-
poiled the Church of its gold and silver ornaments, that he
might feed the starving people. Amongst the objects thus
parted A\dth was the crown of gold presented to the abbey
by Henry, King of the Romans. He accompanied this
Prince in his journey to Rome, when he was crowned em-
peror, in 1014. This was his second journey thither; he
made a third in 1017, and a fourth in 1022. Out of devo-
tion to S. Benedict, he paid a visit to Monte Cassino, where
he kissed the feet of all the monks, at his o\vn request,
which was granted him with great reluctance.

" The convocation of the brethren was regularly held by

-■il<

24 Lives of the Saints. [January i.

him till he was at the point of death. O how joyous he was
in the midst of them, as standing in the midst of the choir,
and looking to right and left he saw the ring of young
plantings, and remembered the verse of David's song, ' Thy
children shall be as the olive branches round about thy
table.' Filii tid sicut novellce olivarum, in circuitu viensiz
tii(B. And the more the number of brothers increased, the
more he exhibited his joy of heart by signs. And when
some seemed distressed thereat, he was wont to say, ' Grieve
not that the flock has become great, my brothers, He who
has called us in. He governs, and will provide.'"

Fulbert, Bishop of Chartres, called him the archangel of
monks ; and the name, says his disciple, became him well.
S. Odilo, out of his great compassion for the souls of the
dead expiating the penalty of their sins in purgatory, insti-
tuted the commemoration of All Souls for the morrow of All
Saints, in the Cluniac order, which was aftei"wards adopted by
the whole Catholic Church in the West. Many incidents of
his travels, and miracles that he ^vrought, are related by his
pupil. As he was riding over the Jura mountains, in snowy
weather, the horse carrying his luggage fell, and was preci-
pitated into the valley, and all the baggage was scattered
in the snow-drifts. With much trouble, the horse and much
of the baggage were recovered, but a valuable Sacramentary,
inscribed with gilt letters, and some glass vessels, with em-
bossed work, were lost. That evening, Odilo and his monks
arrived at a cell, under the jurisdiction of S. Eugendus, and
being much troubled at his loss, as much rain fell in the
night, S. Odilo sent some of the brethren early next morn-
ing to search for the lost treasures. But the snow-drifts
were so deep that they could not find them, and he was
obliged to leave without them. However, as the spring
came round, a certain priest, named Ermendran, was walk-
ing in the glen, and he found the book uninjured, and tlie

►& — — »j«

January i.] i^'. OcHlo.

glass goblets unbroken. He brought them to the cell, and
on the return of Odilo to the Jura, he received his lost
treasures intact.

Another story of a glass vessel comes on good authority.
The circumstances were related by Albert, Bishop of Como,
in these words, " Once our Abbot and Superior came to the
court of the Emperor Henry, and whilst there, it happened
one day that at table a goblet of glass, of Alexandrine work-
manship, very precious, with coloured enamel on it, was
placed before him. He called me and Landulf, afterwards
Bishop of Turin, to him, and bade us take this glass to Odilo.
We accordingly, as the Emperor had bidden, took it, and
going to the abbot, offered it to him, on the part of the Em-
peror, humbly bowing. He received it wdth great humility,
and told us to return after a while for the goblet again. Then,
when we had gone away, the monks, filled with natural curi-
osity to see and handle a new sort of thing, passed the
vessel from hand to hand, and as they were examining it, it
slipped through their fingers to the ground, and was broken.
When the gentle man of God was told this, he was not a
little grieved, and said, ' My brothers, you have not done well,
for by your negligence, the young clerks who have the cus-
tody of these things will, maybe, lose the favour of the
Emperor, through your fault. Now, that those who are in-
nocent may not suffer for your carelessness, let us all go to
church and ask God's mercy about this matter.' Therefore,
they all ran together into the church, and sang psalms and
prayed, lest some harm should befall us — Albert and Lan-
dulf, each of them earnestly supplicating God for us. When
the prayer was over, the holy man ordered the broken gob-
let to be brought to him. He looked at it, and felt it, and
could find no crack or breakage in it. Wherefore, he ex-
claimed indignantly, ' What are you about, brothers ? You
must be blind to say that the glass is broken, when there is

•t!-

Lives of the Saints,

[January i.

not a sign of injury done to it.' The brethren, considering
it, were amazed at the miracle, and did not dare to speak.
Then, after a while, I and my companion came back for the
vessel, and we asked it of him who was carrying it. He
called me apart, and returned it to me, bidding me tell
the Emperor to regard it as a great treasure. And when
I asked his meaning, he told me all that had happened."

S. Odilo seems to have been fond of art, for he rebuilt the
monasteries of his order, and made them very beautiful, and
the churches he adorned with all the costly things he could
procure. The marble pillars for Cluny were brought, by his
orders, in rafts down the Durance, into the Rhone, and he
was wont to say of Cluny, that he found it of wood and left
it of marble. He erected over the altar of S. Peter, in the
church, a ciborium, whose columns were covered with
silver, inlaid with nigello work.

When he felt that his death approached, he made a
circuit of all the monasteries under his sway, that he might
leave them in thorough discipline, and give them his last
admonitions. On this journey he reached Souvigny, a priory
in Bourbonnais, where he celebrated the Vigil of the Nati-
vity, and preached to the people, although at the time suffer-
ing great pain. After that, he announced to the brethren in
chapter, that he was drawing nigh to his end, and he besought
their prayers. As he was too weak to go to the great Church
of S. Peter, which was attended by the monks, he kept the
festival of the Nativity Avith a few brethren, whom he de-
tained, to be with him in the Chapel of S. Mary ; joy-
ously he prsecented the psalms and antiphons, and gave the
benedictions, and performed all the ceremonies of that glad
festival, forgetful of his bodily infirmities, knowing that soon
he was to see God face to face, in the land of the living,
and no more in a glass darkly. Most earnest was he, lest
deatli should come and find him unprepared. Throughout

^ — ^ »J,

January I.] S. Odllo. 2']

the Octave, he was carried in the arms of the monks to
church, where he assisted at the choir offices, night and
day, and at the celebration of the mass, refreshing himself
at the sacred mysteries, and looking forward to the feast of
the Circumcision, when his friend William, abbot of Dijon,
had fallen asleep, on which day, he foretold, he also should
enter into his rest.

On that day, carried by his brethren, he was laid before
the altar of the Virgin Mother, and the monks sang vespers.
Now and then their voices failed, through over much sor-
row, and then he recited the words of the psalms they in
their trouble had omitted. As night crept in at the win-
dows, he grew weaker and fainter. Then the brothers laid
sack-cloth and ashes under him, and as he was lifted in the
arms of one, brother Bernard, he asked, reviving a little,
where he was. The brother answered, " On sack-cloth and
ashes." Then he sighed forth, " God be thanked !" and he
asked that the little children, and the whole body of the
brethren, might be assembled. And when all were gathered
around him, he directed his eyes to the Cross, and his lips
moved in prayer, and he died thus in prayer, gazing on the
sign of his salvation.

His body was laid in the nave of the Church of Souvigny,
near that of S. Majolus.

He is often represented saying mass, with purgatory open
beside the altar, and those suffering extending their hands
to him, in allusion to his having instituted the commemora-
tion of All Souls.

28 Lives of the Saints. uammryi

January 2.
(CDe ©ctaUc of ^, ^teyScn, tge jFir^t Jliaartyc

SS. Frontasius, and Companions, lilM. in Gaul.

SS. Martyrs, at Lichfield, circ. a.d. 304.

S. Isidore, B. C, in Egypt, ^th cent.

S. Macarius, of Alexandria, Ab., a.d. 39^.

S. AsPASius, C, at ATelun, France, a.d. 550.

S. Maximus, Ab. M., in France, a.d. 614.

S. Adalhardt, Ab. of Corbie, a.d. 826.

S. Silvester, Monk 0/ Trani, in S. Italy, a.d. 1185.

THE HOLY MARTYRS OF LICHFIELD.

(a.d. 304.)
[Anglican Martyiologies.]
ICH FIELD derives its name from Lyke-field,
the field of dead bodies, because it is tradition-
all}' said, that in the persecution of Diocletian,
many Christians suffered there for the faith.
The arms of Lichfield are a plain strewn with corpses.
Nothing certain is known of this event, which is probably
altogether apocryphal.

S. MACARIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, AB.
(a.d. 394.)

[There were two Macarii. Both are commemorated together by the
Greeks, on Jan. 19th ; but the Latins commemorate S. Macarius of Alex-
mdria, on Jan. 2nd ; and S. Macarius the Egyptian, on Jan. I5ch. The
bistoi7 of this S. Macarius is perfectly authentic, having been written by
S. Palladius (b. 368,) in the year 421 ; the writer knew S. Macarius per-
sonally, having been nine years in "the cells," of which S. Macarius
was priest. Three of these years Macarius and Palladius lived toge-
ther ; so that, as the author says, he had every opportunity of judging of
his manner of life and actions.]

Saint Macarius the younger was born in Alexandria, of
poor parents, and followed the trade of confectioner. Desir-

^ . »j(

»J<-

>I<

January a.] 6'. MuCariuS. 29

ous of serving God with his whole heart, he forsook the
world in the flower of his age, and spent upwards of sixty
years in the deserts, in the exercise of fervent penance and
prayer. He first retired into the Thebaid, or Upper Egypt,
about the year 335 ; then, aiming at greater disengagement,
he descended to Lower Egypt, in or about the year 373.
Here there were three deserts almost adjoining each other;
that of Scete ; that of the Cells, so called because of the
multitude of cells wherewith its rocks were honey-combed j
and a third, which reached the western bank of the Nile,
called the Nitrian desert. S. Macarius had a cell in each
of these deserts. When he was in Nitria he gave advice to
those who sought him. But his chief residence was in the
desert of the Cells. There each hermit lived separate, as-
sembling only on Saturday and Sunday, in the church, to
celebrate the divine mysteries, and to partake of the Holy
Communion. All the brothers were employed at some
handicraft, generally they platted baskets or mats. All in
the bvuning desert was still ; in their cells the hermits worked,
and prayed, and cooked their scanty victuals, till the red
ball of the sun went down behind the sandy plain to the
west ; then from all that region rose a hum of voices, the
rise and fall of song, as the evening psalms and hymns were
being chanted by that great multitude of solitaries in dens
and caves of the earth.

Palladius has recorded an instance of the great self-denial
observed by these hermits. A present was made to S.
Macarius of a bunch of grapes, newly gathered. The holy
man carried it to a neighbouring solitary who was sick; he
sent it to another, and each washing that some dear brother
should enjoy the fruit radier than himself, passed it on to
another ; and thus the bunch of grapes made the circuit of
the cells, and was brought back to Macarius.

The severity of life practised by these hermits was great

-♦

30 Lives of tlie Saints. [January ».

For seven years together S. Macarius lived on raw herbs and
pulse, and for the three following years contented himself
with four or five ounces of bread a day. His watchings
were not less surprising. He told Palladius that it had been
his great desire to fix his mind on God alone for five days
and nights continuously. And when he supposed he was in
the proper mood, he closed his cell, and stood up, and said,
" Now thou hast angels and archangels, and all the heavenly
host in company with thee. Be in heaven, and forget
earthly things." And so he continued for two nights and
days, wrapped in heavenly contemplations, but then his
hut seemed to flame about him, even the mat on which he
stood, and his mind was diverted to earth. " But it was as
well," said he ; "for I might have fallen into pride."

The reputation of the monastery of Tabenna, under S.
Pachomius, drew him to it in disguise. S. Pachomius told
him he seemed too far advanced in years to begin to prac-
tise the austerities undergone by himself and his monks ;
nevertheless, on his earnest entreaty, he admitted him.
Then Lent drew on, and the aged Macarius saw the monks
fasting, some two whole days, others five, some standing all
night, and sitting at their work during the day. Then he,
having soaked some palm leaves, as material for his work,
went apart into a corner, and till Easter came, he neither ate
nor drank, nor sat down, nor bowed his knee, nor lay down,
and sustained life on a few raw cabbage leaves wliich he ate
on Sundays ; and when he went forth for any need he
returned silently to his work, and occupied his hands in
platting, and his heart in prayer. But when the others
saw this, they were astonished, and remonstrated with S.
Pachomius, saying, " Wliy hast thou brought this fleshless
man here to confound us with his austerities. Send him
away, or we will desert this place." Then the abbot went to
Macarius, and asked him who he was, and when he told his

►p-

January 2.] S. MaCa7'UlS. X I

name, Pachomius was glad, and cried, " Many years have I
desired to see thee. I thank thee that thou hast humbled
my sons; but now, go thy way, sufficiently hast thou
edified us ; go, and pray for us." Macarius, on one occa-
sion, to subdue his flesh, filled two great baskets with
sand, and laying them on his shoulders, walked over the
hot desert, bowed beneath them. A fi-iend meeting him,
oftered to ease him of his burden, but "No," said the
old hermit, " I have to torment my tormentor ;" meaning
his body.

One day, a gnat stung him in his cell, and he killed it.
Then, ashamed that he had allowed himself to be irritated
by the petty insect, and to have lost an opportunity of
enduring mortification with equanimity, he went to the
marshes of Scete, and stayed there six months, suffering
greatly from the stings of the insects. When he returned,
he was so disfigured by their bites, that he was only recog-
nized by his voice.

The terrible severity with which these Egyptian hermits
punished themselves is perhaps startling, but it was some-
thinsr needed at a time when the civilized world was sunk in
luxury, profligacy, and indifference. That was a time which
called for a startling and vivid contrast to lead minds
into self-inspection. " Private profligacy among all ranks
was such as cannot be described in any modern pages.
The clergy of the cities, though not of profligate lives, and
for the most part unmarried, were able to make no stand
against the general coiTuption of the age, because — at least
if we are to trust such writers as Jerome and Chrysostom —
they were giving themselves up to ambition and avarice,
intrigue and party spirit. No wonder if, in such a state of
things, the minds of men were stirred by a passion akin to
despair. It would have ended often, but for Christianity, in
such an actual despair as tliat which had led, in past ages,

^ )J^

^ _ ^

32 Lives of the Saints. [January j.

more than one noble Roman to slay himself, when he lost
all hope for the Republic. Christianity taught those who
despaired of society, of the world — in one word, of the
Roman empire, and all that it had done for men — to hope
at last for a Kingdom of God after death. It taught those,
who, had they been heathens and brave enough, would
have slain themselves to escape out of a world which was no
place for honest men, that the body must be kept alive, at
least, for the sake of the immortal soul, doomed, according
to its works, to endless bliss or endless torment. But that
the world — such, at least, as they saw it then — -was doomed,
Scripture and their owti reason taught them. They did not
merely believe, but see, in the misery and confusion, the
desolation, and degradation around them, that all that was
in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and
the pride of life, was not of the Father, but of the world ;
that the world was passing away, and the lust thereof, and
that only he who did the will of God could abide for ever.
They did not merely believe, but saw, that the wrath of God
was revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness of
men ; and that the world in general was treasuring up to
themselves wrath, tribulation, and anguish, against a day of
wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who
would render to every man according to his works. That
they were correct in their judgment of the world about them,
contemporary history proves abundantly. That they were
correct, likewise, in believing that some fearful judgment
was about to fall on man, is proved by the fact that it did
fall ; that the first half of the fifth century saw, not only the
sack of Rome, but the conquest and desolation of the
greater part of the civilized world, amid bloodshed, misery,
and misrule, which seemed to turn Europe into a chaos,
which would have turned it into a chaos, had there not been
a few men left who still felt it possible and necessary to

•i<"

-•J-

January 2.] .S". Macavius. 33

believe in God, and to work righteousness. Under these
terrible forebodings, men began to flee from a doomed
world, and try to be alone with God, if by any means they
might save each man his own soul in that dread day."i

S. Macarius, of Alexandria, and his namesake, the Egyp-
tian, lived much together. They were both exiled in 375,
at the instigation of the Arian patriarch of Alexandria, who
dreaded their influence over the people, and zeal for the
orthodox faith. They crossed the Nile together in a feny-
boat, when they encountered two military tribunes, accompa-
nied by a great array of horses, with decorated bridles, of
equipages, soldiers, and pages covered with ornaments. The
officers looked long at the two monks in their old dresses,
humbly seated in a comer of the bark. They might well
look at them, for in that bark t^vo worlds stood face to face ;
old Rome, degraded by the emperors, and the new Christian
republic, of which the monks were the precursors. As they
approached the shore, one of the tribunes said to the ceno-
bites, " You are happy, for you despise the world." " It is
true," answered the Alexandrine, " we despise the world, and
the world despises you. You have spoken more truly
than you intended; we are happy in fact, and happy in
name, for we are called Macarius, which means in Greek
happy."

The tribune made no answer, but, returning to his house,
renounced all his wealth and rank, and went to seek hap-
piness in solitude.

In art, S. Macarius is represented with wallets of sand
on his shoulders ; sometimes with a hy^na and its young,
because the story is told that one day a hysena brought her
young one and laid it at the feet of the hermit. He looked
at the animal, and saw that it was blind, therefore he pitied
the poor whelp, and prayed to God ; then he touched the eyes

> Kingsley, The Hermits, p. 4, 6.
VOL. I.

24 LweS of the Saints. January 2

of the young hysena, and it saw plain. Next day, the mother
brought a sheep-skin and laid it at his feet, and this the hermit
wore continually afterwards, till he gave it to S. Melania.

S. ADALHARDT, OR ADELARD, AB. C.
(a.d. 826.)

[Named in many later Western Martyrologies, but not enrolled in the
Roman Kalendar. He is variously called Adelhard, Adalarch, Alard, and
Adelrhad. His life was written by S. Paschasius Radbertus, his disciple,
and this was epitomized by S. Gerard, of Sauve-Majeur, in the nth
century. Paschasius says tliat the reason of his writing the life, was ' ' to
recall him whom almost the whole world regards as holy and admirable ,
whom we have seen, and whose love we enjoyed."]

x^DALHARDT was of royal race, having been the son of
Bernhardt, son of Charles Martel, the brother of King Pepin ;
so that Adalhardt was cousin-german to Charlemagne, by
whom he was called to court in his youth, and created Count
of the Palace. But when the king put away his wife, the
daughter of Desiderius, King of Italy, to marry another,
Adalhardt left the court, disgusted with its lawlessness and
vice, and became a monk at Corbie, at the age of twenty, in
the year 773. He was made gardener, and, as his historian
says, "With Mary he sought Jesus in the garden." At
Corbie, he was so frequently visited by his relations, his
friends, and acquaintances, that he had not sufficient solitude
for the labour of turning his soul from earth to heaven ;
therefore he left Corbie and betook himself to Monte Cas-
sino ; but by order of the Emperor Charles, he was brought
back again to Corbie, where he was shortly after elected
abbot He was compelled at last, by Charlemagne, to
quit the monastery, and take upon him the charge of prime
minister to his son Pepin, to whom he had intrusted the
government of Italy.

January 2.] S. Adalhlirdt. 35

On tlie death of Charlemagne, T.ouis the Pious succeeded
to the throne, and dismissed all the old ministers and
officers of his father. Bernard, son of Pepin, the elder
brother of Louis, who was dead, having asserted his right
to the throne, King Louis suspected the abbot of Corbie
of having been privy to this attempt, and he exiled him to the
island of Heri, or Herimoutier, and his brothers and sisters
were sent into monasteries. His brother Walla was forced
to become a monk at Corbie ; Bernharius was sent to Lerins ;
his sister Gundrada was given to the charge of S. Radegund,
at Poictiers, and only Theodradra was left unmolested at
Soissons.

Adalhardt spent seven years in banishment at Herimou-
tier, and then the king, having recognized his error, recalled
him, to the great grief of the monks of Heri, to whom
his meekness and charity had made him dear, and to
the joy of those of Corbie, to whom he returned. He was
not, however, allowed to remain at peace in his abbey at the
head of his monks, but was recalled to court, where the
king, whose disposition was much changed, followed his ad-
vice in all his undertakings, and Adalhardt was of great use
to him, in suggesting improvement in the laws. At length,
in 823, he obtained leave to return to Corbie, which he
governed till his death. He had an admirable memory, so
that he never forgot the face, or name, or disposition of one
of his monks ; and he was careful to speak with each of tliem
once a week.

During the banishment of the Saint, another Adalhardt,
who governed the monastery by his appointment, began the
foundation of another Corbie, in the diocese of Paderborn,
in Westphalia, that it might be a nursery of missionaries for
the conversion of the northern nations. S. Adalhardt often
journeyed from one Corbie to the other, that he might pro-
vide for the welfare, and look to the discipline of both houses.

* — *

36 l^iveS of the Saints. [January 2.

Finding himself attacked with fever, and knowing that he
should not recover, he used every effort to reach the mother
house before Christmas. This he achieved, and there he
calmly prepared for his passage, communicating daily. Hear-
ing of his sickness, Hildemann, Bishop of Beauvais, who had
been a monk under him, hurried to his side, and adminis-
tered to him the Sacrament of extreme unction, and scarcely
left him. One day, however, the bishop left the room for a
moment, and, on his return, saw the sick man in great trans-
port. The Abbot exclaimed, " Hither speedily. Bishop, I
urge you, and kiss the feet of Jesus, my Lord, for He is at my
side." Then the Bishop of Beauvais trembled with awe, and
stood still, not knowing what to say or do. But Adalhardt
said no more. On the Octave of the Nativity, he called to-
gether the brethren, and having received the Body and Blood
of Christ, he said to the assembled monks, " O my sons, the
fruit of my old age in the Lord ! I have finished the number
of my days, and to-day I shall depart, and go the way of all
flesh, and appear in the presence of my Redeemer. I have
finished the course of my struggle, and what reward I shall
receive, I know not. But help me, I pray, that I in you, and
you in me, may rejoice in the Lord." Thus saying, he sur-
rendered his pure soul to Him who made it. He was
buried at the foot of the chancel steps in the Church of
S. Peter, at Corbie; but in the year 1040 the body was
taken up and enshrined.

S. SH.VESTER, OF TRANI, MONK,
(a.d. 1 185.)

[S. Silvester, monk of Trani, near Barletta, in South Italy, is held there in
gfreat reverence, and commemorated on the 2nd Jan. and 2nd May.]

Saint Silvester, of whom nothing authentic is known, is
traditionally said to have been a monk of the order of

4^ ■ i

January 2.]

6^ Silvester.

S. Basil, in the convent of S. Michael, at Bari. Various
miracles are attributed to him, as his having gone one
winter day to Catania and back on foot. He is also said
to have entered a baker's furnace to scrape the living embers
together for him, when he had lost his shovel, and to have
come forth unhurt.

Ob'iatioa of au lufaut to a Rehfiioui Community. After a
Burgundy Library at Brussels.

iLuiatLire :u th9

-®

Lives of the Saints.

[January 3

January 3.
CDc (©ctauc of ^. goQn, tlje <iEtjangEli|t.

S. Anteros, Pofe and M., at Rome, a.d. 2j6.

S. Florentiur, B.M., at Vicniie, in France, circ. A.v>. ^58.

SS. ZosiMUS AND Athanasius, AfA/., in Cilicia, circ. a.d. 290.

S. Peter Balsam, Al., at Aulane in Palestine, a.d. 291.

S. GoRDius, Af., at C<xsarea, circ. a.d. 320.

SS. Theognis, Primus, and Cyrinus, ATM., circ. a.d. 32a

S. Melor, AI., in Corniuail, circ. a.d. 544-

S. Genoveva, v., at Paris, a.d. 512.

S. Bertilia, v., at Aiarollcs, a.d. 687.

S. ANTEROS, P. M.
(a.d. 236.)

[Conimemovated in ihe Roman Martyrology, and in that atlriUuted to
Hcde, that of Usuaidus, &c.]

AINT ANTEROS succeeded S. Pontianus as
Bi.shop of Rome in 235. He instituted the
office of notaries in the Church, to take down the
sayings and sufferings of the martyrs, so that

faithful records of their acts might be preserved. He died,

June 18th, A.D. 236.

SS. ZOSIMUS AND ATHANASIUS, MM.
(about a.d. 290.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Mcnrea. The Greeks keep their
commemoration, liowever, on Jan. 4th. The authority for the following
account is the Greek Mcncea.]

These martyrs suffered under Diocletian, in CiHcia.
S. Zosimus was a hermit. His ears were burnt off with
red hot irons, afterwards he was pkmged into a vessel of

^ _ ^

Januarys.] 6". Pctcr Balsaiti. 39

molten lead, and was then dismissed. He returned to his
desert, converted and bap'ized Athanasius, and died in his
cell.

S. PETER BALSAM, M.
(a.d. 291.)

[Commemorated in most Latin Martyrologies, and in the Greek Menasri
on the 1 2th Jan. He is mentioned as Peter the Ascetic, by Eusebius ; his
genuine Acts are given in Ruinart.]

Eusebius, in his account of the martyrs of Palestine, ap-
pended to the 8th book of his Ecclesiastical History, says : —
" On the eleventh of the month Audynoeus, z>., on the third
of the ides of January (nth Jan.), in the same city of
Caesarea, Peter the Ascetic, also called Absolom, from the
village of Anea, on the borders of Eleutheropolis, like the
purest gold, with a good resolution, gave proof of his faith in
the Christ of God. Disregarding both the judge and those
around him, that besought him in many ways to have com-
passion on himself, and to spare his youth and blooming
years, he preferred his hope in the Supreme God of all, and
even to life itself."

The name of this Saint seems to have been Peter Abso-
lom ; the latter appellation has been conaipted into Apselm,
Anselm, and Balsam. The acts of his martrydom arc
authentic. They are as follows : —

At that time Peter, called Balsam, was captured at
Aulane, in the time of persecution. He came from the bor-
ders of Eleutheropolis, and was brought before the
governor, Severus, who said to him, "^\^^at is your name?"
Peter ansv.-ered, " I am. called by mv paternal name of
Balsam, but in baptism I received my spiritual name of
Peter." The Governor, "To what family do you belong?"
Peter, "I am a Christian." The Governor, "What office

-y.s

Lives of the Saints.

[January 3.

do you bear?" Peter, "Wiat office can be more honour-
able than to Hve a Christian ?" The Governor, " Have you
any parents ?" Peter, " I have none." The Governor,
" There you lie, for I have heard that you have." Peter,
" In the Gospel I am commanded to renounce all things
when I come to confess Christ." The Governor, "Do
you know the imperial edicts?" Peter, "I know the
laws of God, the Sovereign true and everlasting." The
Governor, " It is commanded by the most clement emperors
that all Christians shall either sacrifice, or be executed in
various ways." Peter, "And this is the command of the
everlasting King. If thou sacrifice to any demon, and not
to God alone, thou shalt be plucked out of the Book of the
Li\ing. Judge thou which I shall obey." The Governor,
" Come, listen to me, sacrifice and obey tlie law." Peter.
" I wall not sacrifice to gods made by men's hards
of wood and stone." And he poured forth a vehement
invective against idolatry. The governor ordered him to
the rack, and when he was slung to it, he said, " Well,
Peter, what say you to this ? How do you like your swing ?"
Peter said, " Bring the iron hooks ; I have already told thee
that I will not sacrifice to devils, but to God alone, for
whom 1 sufl'er." The governor ordered him to be tortured.
And when the stress of torment was very great, the martyr
uttered no cry of pain, but sang, " One thing have I desired
of the Lord, which I will require : even that I may dwell in
the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the
fair beauty of the Lord, and to visit His temple. Wliat re-
ward shall I give unto the Lord for all the benefits that He
hath done unto me ? I will take the cup of salvation,
and call upon the Name of the Lord." As he thus spake,
the governor ordered other executioners to come to the
work, being much exasperated. And the crowd standing
by, when they saw much blood run over the pavement,

januarys-] 61 Petev Balsani. 41

lamented, and urged him, saying, " O man, compassionate
thyself, and sacrifice, that thou mayest escape these dreadful
pains." But the holy man of God answered them, " These
pains are nothing, and give me no suffering ; but were I to
deny the name of my God, I know that I should fall into
greater torments, which would last eternally." The Governor
said, "You had better sacrifice, or you will repent it"
" No," answered Peter ; " I will not sacrifice, and I shall not
repent it." The Governor said, "Well, then I shall pro-
nounce sentence." "That," said Peter, "is what I most
ardendy desire."

Then the governor gave sentence in these words, " I
command Peter, continuously despising the commands of the
unconquered emperors, to suffer the death of the cross."

Thus, the venerable athlete of Christ, fulfilling his agony,
was found worthy to participate in the Passion of his Lord.
And he suffered at Aulane, on the third of the nones of
January (Jan. 3rd,) under Maximian, the emperor.

This account is somewhat abbreviated from the Acts.
There is some little discrepancy between it and that of
Eusebius. The ecclesiastical historian says he was executed
at Csesarea ; the Acts say at Aulane ; but as this was an
insignificant village in the district over which the governor
of Csesarea held jurisdiction, the discrepancy is only ap-
parent. Eusebius says he suffered on the third of the ides ;
the Acts, that he suffered on the third of the nones. It is
probable that Eusebius is right, for the Greeks observe the
martyrdom of S. Peter Balsam on the 12th Jan., and
in the Martyrology, attributed to S. Jerome, the passion of
this Saint is given as occurring on the third of the ides,
nth Jan.

* — *

Lives of the Saints.

[January 3.

S. GORDIUS M.

(about 320.)

[Commemorated by the Roman Martyrology and the Greek Mencwa on
the same day. The account of his passion is given by S. Basil the Great in
a panegyric at Cassarea, on the anniversary of his martyrdom, which he
says was then recent. This account, given on the scene of his suffering,
within the memory of man, so that some of those who heard the dis-
course of S. Basil, had seen the conflict of the martyr, is unquestionably
trustworthy.]

Saint Gordius was a native of Coesarea, in Cappadocia,
and was a centurion in the army. When Galerius issued his
edicts against the Church in the East (303,) (".ordius laid
aside his office, and retired into the desert, where he lived in
fasting and prayer amongst the wild beasts. In the desert
he spent many years, but his zeal for Christ gave him
no rest. The churches in Ccesarea had been destroyed,
the clergy scattered, and many Christians had conformed,
rather than lose their lives. It was a heathen city once more,
and such salt as had remained had lost its savour. The
spirit of the Lord stirred in the soul of Gordius, and urged
him to return to his native city, and there play the man for
Christ, where so manyhnd fallen away from the faith. "One
day that the amphitheatre was crowded to see horse and
chariot races in honour of Mars, the god of war, when
the benches were thronged, and Jew and Gentile, and many a
Christian also," says S. Basil, "was present at the spectacle,
and all the slaves were free to see the sight, and the boys
had been given holiday from school for the same purpose,
suddenly, in the race-course, appeared a man in rags, with
long beard and matted locks; his face and arms burned with
exposure to the sun, and shrivelled with long fasting; and
he cried aloud, "I am found of them who sought me not, and
to them who asked not after me, have 1 manifested myself
openly."

•J<-

January 3.] S. GovdiuS, 43

Every eye was directed upon this wild-lopking man, and
when it was discovered who he was, there rose a shout from
Gentile and Christian ; the latter cried because they
rejoiced to see the faithful centurion in the midst of them
again; the former, because they hated the truth, and were
wrath at the disturbance of the sports.

" Then," continues S. Basil, " the clamour and tumult be-
came more, and filled the whole amphitheatre ; horses,
chariots, and drivers were forgotten. In vain did the rush of
wheels fill the air; none had eyes for anything but Gordius ;
none had ears to hear anything but the words of Gordius.
The roar of the theatre, like a wind rushing through the air,
drowned the noise of the racing horses. ^Vl■len the crier had
made silence, and all the pipes and trumpets, and other
musical instruments were hushed, Gordius was led before
the seat of the governor, who was present, and was asked,
blandly, who he was and whence he came. Then he related,
in order, what was his country, and family, and the rank he
had held, and why he had thrown up his office and fled away.
* I am returned,' said he, 'to shew openly that I care naught
for your edicts, but that I place my hope and confidence in
Jesus Christ alone.'" The governor, being exceedingly
exasperated at the interiiiption in the sports, and the open
defiance cast in his face by a deserter, before the whole city,
ordered him at once to be tortured. " Then," S. BasU pro-
ceeds to relate in his graphic style, "the whole crowd
poured from the theatre towards the place of judgment, and
all those who had remained behind in the city ran to see the
sight The city was deserted. Like a great river, the in-
habitants rolled to the place of mart}Tdom; mothers of
families, noble and ignoble, pushed there ; houses were left
unprotected, shops were deserted by the customers, and
in the market-place goods lay here and there neglected.
Servants threw up their occupations, and ran off to see tlie

t^t- ___ — _ — ^^ 1^

44 Lives of the SamtS. [January 3.

spectacle, and all the rabble was there to see this man.
Maidens forgot their bashfulness and shame of appearing
before men, and sick people and old men crawled without
the walls, that they, too, might share the sight." The
relations of Gordius, in vain, urged him to yield and apolo-
gise for his defiance of the state religion ; signing himself
with the cross, he cheerfully underwent the torments of
leaded scourges, of the little horse, fire, and knife, and
was finally beheaded.

SS. THEOGNIS, PRIMUS, AND CYRINUS, MM.
(about a.d. 320.)

[The Martyrologies of S. Jerome, Bede, Usuardus, &c. Commemo-
rated in the Roman Martyrology on this day ; in the Greek Mensea on
the 2nd Jan. Theognis, especially, is famous throughout East and
West. The account in the Mensea and Menology is probably trust-
worthy. The Acts published by the Bollandists are of doubtful authority.]

Theognis was the son of the Bishop of Cyzicus, in
Hellespont. In the persecution of Licinius, he and his com-
panions suffered at Cyzicus, being first scourged, and then
cast into the sea.

S. ME LOR, M.
(about a.d. 544.)

[English Martyrologies on this day, though he died on Oct. 1st, on
which day he is mentioned in Usuardus. His life in Capgiave is of no
historical value — a composition of the nth cent, "incertum" even to
William of Malmesbury. ]

When first Christianity penetrated Britain, a great number
of Saints existed, especially in Wales and Brittany. At
this time there was a duke, or prince, in Brittany, named
Meliau, whose brother-in-law, Rivold, revolted against him.

Ij(— ■ — ^

Januarys.] S. Mclor. 4^

and put him to death. Meliau left a son, Melor, and the
usurper only spared his life at the intercession of the
bishops and clergy. He, however, cut off his right hand
and left foot, and sent him into one of the local monasteries
to be brought up.

The legend goes on to relate that the boy was provided
with a silver hand and a brazen foot, and that one day, when
he was aged fourteen, he and the abbot were nutting to-
gether in a wood, when the abbot saw the boy use his silver
hand to clasp the boughs and pick the nuts, just as though
it were of flesh and blood. Also, that one day he threw a
stone, which sank into the earth, and from the spot gushed
forth a fountain of pure water.

Rivold, fearing lest the boy should depose him, bribed
his guardian, Cerialtan, to murder him. This Cerialtan per-
formed. He cut off the head of Melor, and carried it to the
duke; but angels with lights stood around the body and
guarded it.

On his way to the duke, Cerialtan was parched with thirst,
and exclaimed, " Wretched man that I am ! I am dying for
a drop of water." Then the head of the murdered boy said,
" Cerialtan, strike the ground with thy rod, and a fountain
will spring up." He did so, and quenched his thirst at the
miraculous well, and pursued his way. When Rivold saw
the head, he touched it, and instantly sickened, and died
three days after. The head was then taken back to the
body, and was buried with it. But the relics were afterwards
taken to Amesbury, in Wiltshire.

It must be remembered, in reading the legends of the
British and Irish Saints of the first period, that we have
nothing like contemporary histories of their lives, and that
these legends were committed to writing many hundreds of
years after their death, so that the original facts became sur-
rounded with an accretion of fable so dense that it is

46 Lives of the Saints. uanuaryj.

impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood in the
legends as they have reached us.

S. GENOVEVA, V.
(A.i). 512.)

[S. Genoveva is mentioned in almost all tV.e Latin Martyrologies. Her
life was written by an anonymous learned man, in the reign of Chiklebert,
about eighteen years after her death. Three ancient lives exist, but whethei
one of these is that then composed, it is impossible to say.]

The blessed Genoveva was born at Nanterre, near Mont
Valerien, on the outskirts of Paris. Her father's name was
Severus ; that of her mother was Gerontia. When S. Ger-
manus, Bishop of Auxerre, was on his way to Britain, to
oppose the heresy of Pelagius, with his companion, S. Lupus,
they passed through Nanterre. The people went out to meet
him, and receive the benedictions ; men, and women, and
children in companies. Amongst the children, S. Germanus
observed Genoveva, and bade her be brought before him.
The venerable bishop kissed the child, and asked her
name. The surrounding people told him, and the parents
coming up, S. Germanus said to them, " Is this little girl your
child?" They answered in the affirmative. "Then," said
the bishop, "happy are ye in having so blessed a child.
She will be great before God; and, moved by her example,
many will decline from evil and incline to that which is
good, and will obtain remission of their sins, and the reward
of life from Christ the Lord."

And then, after a pause, he said to Genoveva, " My
daughter, Genoveva!" She answered, "Thy little maiden
listens." Then he said, " Do not fear to tell me whether it
be not thy desire to dedicate thy body, clean and untouched,

*^-

januaryj.] S. GcilOVCVa. 47

to Christ, as His bride?" She said, "Blessed be thou,
father, for thou hast spoken my desire. I pray God
earnestly that He will grant it me."

" Have confidence, my daughter," said S. Germain ; " be
of good courage, and what thou believest in thy heart, and
confessest with thy lips, perform in work. God will add to
thy comeliness virtue and fortitude."

Then they went to the church, and sang Nones and
Vespers, and throughout the office the bishop held his hand
on the little maiden's head. And that evening, after supper
had been eaten, and they had sung a hymn, S. Germain bade
Severus retire with his daughter, but bring her to him very
early in the morning again. So when the day broke, Severus
came back bringing the child, and the old bishop smiled,
and said, " Hail, my daughter Genoveva. Dost thou recall
the promise thou didst make yesterday, about keeping thy
body in integrity?" She answered, "I remember what I
promised to thee, my father, and to God, that with His help
I would preserve the chastity of my mind, and the integrity
of my body, unto the end."

Then S. Germain picked up from the ground a little
brass coin with the sign of the cross on it, which he had
observed lying there whilst he was speaking, and gave it her,
saying, " Bore a hole in this, and wear it round thy neck in
remembrance of me, and let not any other metal ornament,
gold or silver, or pearls, adorn thy neck or fingers." Then
he bade her farewell, commending her to the care of her
father, and pursued his journey.

It has been supposed by some that the command of
S. Germain not to wear gold, &c., indicates that she was of
wealthy parents, and they are disposed to doubt the common
tradition of the place, and the ancient Breviary, which says
that she kept sheep for her father on the slopes of Valerien
at Nanterre. But there need be no difficulty upon this

— ^

48 Lives of the Saints. [Januarys.

point, for the sons and daughters of men of some position, at
that period, were thus employed, and there was not supposed
to be anything demeaning in the office. Thus, S. Cuthbert,
though of noble race, kept sheep on the Northumbrian
moors.

At the age of fifteen she was presented to the Bishop of
Paris, to be consecrated to the religious life. With her were
two othei virgins, and though she was the youngest of the
tliree, the bishop, moved by some interior inspiration,
placed her first, sapng that heaven had already sanctified
her.

On the death of her parents, she moved to Paris, where
she was remarked for her sanctity and miraculous powers.
Wlien S. Germain was on his way to Britain again, he
passed through Paris, and asked after Genoveva, when cer-
tain envious persons tried to poison his mind against
her; but he, despising their slanders, greeted her with
great kindness openly, so as to testify before all the people
how highly he honoured her, as he had done before at
Nanterre.

The influence exerted by this holy woman must have been
very great, for she persuaded the Parisians to remain in the
city, instead of flying into the country, when the hosts
of Attila, King of the Huns, threatened it. Then Genoveva
assembled the pious matrons, and with them fasted, and
prayed, asking God incessantly, with many tears, to avert the
scourge of the Huns from the city.

A tumult, however, arose ; many people saying that she
was a false prophet, and that she would bring ruin on the
citizens by dissuading them from escaping with their goods
to places of greater security. The mob, headlong and cruel
— as a Parisian mob has ever been — came upon her to stone
her, or drown her in the Seine, and they would have carried
their ferocious purpose into execution, had not her ancient

I
* ~ *

S. Cil^NOVl-:VA, Patroness of the City of I'aiis.
From Cahier.

Jan., p. 48.]

[Jan. 3.

^. . in

Januar>-3.] S. Ge/lOVCVa. ^g

friend and father in God, S. Germain, stood by her in her
extremity. He was then dying at Auxerre, and his thoughts
turned to the Httle girl he had consecrated to God in bygone
years, in the humble church of Nanterre. Then, he bade
the archdeacon take to her the Euloga:, or blessed bread,^
in token of love and regard.

The archdeacon arrived when the feeble woman was in
greatest peril. He had heard the prophecy of S. Germain
of old ; and, running among the people, he exliibited the
Eulogies sent by the holy bishop, and told them how highly
he had venerated her virtues ; so he appeased the multi-
tude and dispersed them.

The saying of the Apostle was fulfilled, " All men have
not faith ; but the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you,
and keep you from evil ;" for by the prayers of S. Genoveva
the city was preserved, and the army of Alaric came not
near it.

S. Genoveva lived on a little barley bread, and a few
beans stewed in oU ; but after she was aged fifty, at the com-
mand of the bishop, she ate also fish, and drank milk.
Feeling a great reverence for S. Denis, she desired greatly to
build a church in his honour, and she, one day, urged some
priests to undertake the work. But they hesitated, saying
that they were not able to do so ; one reason being that
there was no means of burning lime. Then S. Genoveva
said, " Go, and cross tlie city bridge, and tell me what you
hear." The priests left her, and as they passed over the
bridge, they heard two swineherds in conversation. One
said to the other, " Wliilst I was following one of my pigs
the other day, it led me into the forest to a large Hmekiln."

1 The custom of blessing bread and distributing it amongst the faithful, prevails
still in the French Church, as may be seen at any festival in a church of im-
portance. The blessed bread is not to be confounded with the Holy Eucharist. It
is taken about the church in baskets, and is a sort of sweet-cake. This is a relic of
the ancient Love Feasts or Agapa;.

VOL. I. 4

*^ — — — >J<

Lives of the Saints.

[January 3.

-»J<

"That is no marvel," answered the other, "for I found
a sapling in the forest uprooted by the wind, and under its
roots was an old kiln." On hearing this, the priests returned
and told Genoveva what the swineherds had said, and she
rejoiced, and set the Priest Genes over the work ; and all the
citizens, at the instigation of S. Genoveva, assisted ; and she
encouraged the workmen, till the church of S. Denis was
built and roofed in. This incident is not a little curious, as
it exhibits the fall and prostration of the arts at this period,
when, apparently, the science of building was forgotten, and
old Roman limekilns had to be used, because the Gauls,
owing to the incursions of barbarians and civil war, had lost
the art of building them.

Childeric, though a heathen, had a great respect for Geno-
veva, and was unable to refuse her, when she requested him,
to spare the lives of his prisoners. On one occasion, when
he was about to execute, outside the city, a large number of
captives made in war, he ordered the gates to be closed be-
hind him, lest Genoveva should follow, and obtain pardon for
them. But when the saintly woman heard that the blood of
so many men was about to flow, in a paroxysm of compas-
sion, she hurried through the streets, and reaching the gates,
put her hand to them, and though locked and barred, they
unclosed at the touch of charity, and she pursued the king ;
and, falling down before him, would not be comforted till she
had obtained pardon for all those whom he had ordered to
be executed. After Paris was blockaded by the Franks, the
neighbourhood suffered greatly from famine, as the harvests
had been destroyed and the country laid waste. Genoveva,
seeing that many died of want, conducted vessels to Arcis,
and procuring sufificitnt supplies, returned with them to Paris.

Every Saturday night, Genoveva was wont to watch in
prayer, that the Lord coming in the Holy Eucharist of His
day, might find his servant watching. It fell out that

1^-

January 3.]

6'. Bertilia.

one stormy night, as the Sabbath drew towards Sunday
morn, and the cock had crowed, she left her home to betake
herself to the church of S. Denis, with the virgins who were
her fellows, and the lantern that was carried before her was
extinguished by a puff of wind ; then the maidens were
frightened at the pitch darkness, the howling of the storm, and
the rain, and the road was so muddy that, without a light,
they could not pick their way. Then Genoveva took the
lantern in her hand, and the candle lighted of itself within ;
and holding it, she entered the church.

She performed several pilgrimages to the shrine of S.
Martin, at Tours, in company with those holy women
who lived with her, and imitated her virtues. She died
at the age of eighty-nine, probably in the year 512 ; but the
date is not to be ascertained with certainty.

Patroness of Paris.

Relics, in the church of S. Etienne du Mont, at Paris.

In art, S. Genoveva is represented, (i), with a devil blow-
ing out her candle, and an angel rekindling it. Sometimes,
in old sculpture, the devil is provided with a pair of bellows;
or, (2), she is restoring sight to her mother with the water
of the well of Nanterre; or, (3), guarding her father's sheep;
or, (4), with the keys of Paris at her girdle, as patroness
of the city ; or, (5), holding bread in her lap ; or, (6),
with the well of Nanterre at her side.

S. BERTILIA, V.
(a.d. 687.)

[Belgian and Gallo-Belgian Martyrologies. The life is from a MS.
at Marolles, of uncertain date, but apparently authentic]

Saint Bertilia was born of noble parents. From an early
age her heart turned to the service of God alone, and she

Lives of the Saints.

[January 3.

delighted in attending the offices of reHgion. A youth of noble
blood, named Guthland, sought her hand in marriage, for she
was very beautiful, gentle in speech, and modest in manner.
But Bertilia refused him, desiring to retire into a solitary
place ; however, when her parents urged her vehemently,
she gave a reluctant consent to their wishes, and was
married. Nevertheless, at her desire, the young husband
and she lived together in all chastity, as brother and sister,
serving the poor, and given to hospitality. On the death of
her husband, she divided his goods with the Church, and
built a great church at MaroUes, with a little cell adjoining
it for her habitation. One night, after long protracted prayer
in the church, she returned to her cell, where she was seized
with excruciating pains ; nevertheless, she knelt down and
prayed with fervour, and prepared her soul for its departure.
After having received the last Sacraments, she fell asleep
in Christ, and was buried in the church she had built at
Marolles. She was taken up and enshrined by Gerard II.,
Bishop of Cambray, on September 14th, 1081 ; and translated
to another shrine on the Sth October, 1221.

Patroness of Marolles, in the diocese of Cambray.

Relics at Marolles.

^^-

Jdnuarr^.J S. TUUS. 53

January 4.

©rtabc of dje P^olo Unnocents.

S. Titus, 5. and Ap. cf Crete, circ. a.d. 105.

SS. Aquilinus, (Ieminus, Eugenius, and Others, Martyrs in Africa.

S. Dafrosa, VV. C, at Rome, a.d. 361.

S. RuMON, B. C, at Tavistock, in Devonshire.

S. Gregory, B. 0/ Langrcs, in France, circ. a.d. 541.

S. Pharaildis, v., in Brabant, about a. u. 745.

S. RiGOBERT, B. o/RheiiHs, a.d. 749.

S. Ltbentius, Ab/>. py Bremen, a.d. 1013.

B. Angela, 0/ Foligni, in Umbria, a.d. 1309.

S. TITUS, B.

(about 105.)

[S. Titus is commemorated on this day in the Roman, and all the Latin
Martyrologies. But the Greeks observe the feast of S. Titus on August
25th. Much of his history can be gathered from the first and second
epistles of S. Paul to the Corinthians, and from his epistle to S. Titus ;
also from the Greek Menologium, and his life, written by Zenas, the lawyer,
in the Menaea ; and that by Peter de Natalibus, compiled from Greek
sources.]

[AINT TITUS was born of Gentile parents,

being descended from the ancient royal family

of Crete.^ He was a favourite companion of

S. Paul, who calls him his son in Christ. His

virtue gained him the particular esteem of this Apostle ;

for we find him employed as secretary and interpreter

by S. Paul ; and the Apostle styles him his brother.^

On one occasion, when much depressed, he was consoled

by the presence of Titus : " God, that comforteth those that

are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus ;"^

and he testified, on another occasion, that he found no rest

in his spirit, because at Troas he had not met Titus.*

1 Peter de Nat. * 2 Cor. xii. 16. » a Cor. vii. 6. ♦ 3 Cor. xi. 13.
4, — ^

Lives of the Saints.

[Januar) 4.

In the year 51, Titus accompanied S. Paul to the Council
that was held at Jerusalem, on the subject of the Mosaic
rites. Though the Apostle had consented to the circum-
cision of Timothy, in order to render his ministry more
acceptable among the Jews, he would not allow the same in
the case of Titus, apprehensive of giving thereby a sanction
to the faction which held to the necessity of combining the
rites of the Law with the Sacraments of the Gospel.

Towards the close of the year 56, S. Paul sent Titus from
Ephesus to Corinth, with full commission to remedy several
subjects of scandal, and to allay the dissensions in that
Church. He was there received with great respect, and was
satisfied mth the penance and submission of the offenders ;
but could not be prevailed upon to accept from them any
present, not even so much as his own maintenance. His
love for that Church was very great, and at the request of
the Corinthians, he interceded with S. Paul for the pardon
of the incestuous man whom he had excommunicated. He
was sent the same year by the Apostle, a second time, to
Corinth, to bring the alms of that Church to Jerusalem, for
the relief of the necessity of the poor Christians there.
All these particulars we learn from S. Paul's two epistles to
the Corinthians.

S. Paul, after his first imprisonment, returning from Rome
into the East, made some stay in the island of Crete, of
which Rustilius, the governor, was married to the sister of
S. Titus. He consecrated his beloved disciple, Titus, to be
bishop of that island, and left him there to finish the work
he had begun.^ " We may form a judgment," says S. Chry-
sostom, " from the importance of the charge, how great was
the esteem of S. Paul for his disciple."" But the Apostle,

' Zenas and Peter de Nat. The latter does not say that S. Paul visited Crete, but
that he sent Titus there. S. Paul says, " I left thee in Crete," Tit, i. 4, showing that
he did visit that island with Titus.

* Homil. i. in Tit.

January 4.] 6'. TltUS. 55

an his return into Europe the year after, finding the loss of
such a companion too material, ordered him to meet him
at Nicopolis, in Epirus, where he intended to pass the
winter, as soon as Artemas or Tychicus, whom the Apostle
was about to send to him, to take the place of the bishop
during his absence, should arrive.^ And when he came, he
bade him assist Zenas, the lawyer, and Apollos on their
joumey.2 From this Zenas we have certain incidents of the
life of S. Titus, which have been preserved in a fragmentary
condition in the Greek Menasa.

Zenas relates the conversion of S. Titus thus : — Titus, living
in the island of Crete, was learned in Greek literature, having
been studious in youth. But the dreams of the poets and
philosophers did not satisfy the inward craving of his soul
after truth. One day, when twenty years old, he heard a
voice say to him, "Titus, depart hence and save thy soul,
for the learning of the Greeks will not profit thee unto salva-
tion." Wondering in himself what this could mean, he was
bidden by the same voice to take up a Hebrew volume that
he had long disregarded, and open it. And the book was
the Prophet Isaiah, and the place of the Scriptures that his
eye rested on was this, " Keep silence before me, O islands;
and let the people renew their strength: let them come near;
then let them speak," "^ and what follows.

He seems to have read on much of that chapter, with its
promise to the isles, and to have applied to himself the words,
" Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and
called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee.
Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee
away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed;
for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteous-
ness. . . . When the poor and needy seek water, and

' Tit. iii. 13. • Tit. iv. 13. ' Isa. xli. i.

-•^

^ — ^

56 Lives of the Saints. [January 4.

there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord
\vill hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them."i
These were words very different from those of the poets of
Greece, and gave an idea of God quite other from that
fonned by Homer, in whose writings he had found dehght ;
so Titus left his Greek studies and his native island, and
sought Jemsalem, the chief city of that people of whom the
prophet spake such great things. And when he was there he
saw Jesus, and heard Him teach. Perhaps he was one of
those Greeks whom S. Andrew brought to Christ. ^ He be-
lieved, and was of the number of the first disciples. He re-
mained at Jerusalem after the ascension and the descent of
the Holy Gliost. After he joined S. Paul, he accompanied him
in most of his journeys. In 65, S. Paul sent him to preach
the Word of God in Dalmatia, after he had visited him in
Nicopolis f but he probably was there for no great length
of time, though the Dalmatians honour him as their
Apostle.

Peter de Natalibus relates that when death approached,
he saw angels coming from heaven in a glorious train to
fetch his soul, and that his face lit up with joy at their
approach, and shone with supernatural splendour. He
committed his people to God in long and earnest prayei",
and then yielded up his spirit in peace to Christ his
Saviour.

The body of S. Titus was kept, with great veneration, in
the Cathedral of Gortyna; but that city having been mined by
the Saracens, in 823, the metropolitan see was transferred
to Candia, seventeen miles from the ancient Gortyna ; there
the head of S. Titus was presei-ved, till it was carried off
by the Venetians, and is now among the sacred treasures
of S. Mark's, at Venice.

Patron of Candia, or Crete.

1 Isa. xU. 9, 10, 17. 2 John xii. 21. *2 Tim. iv. 10.
* . — — ij

January 4.] SS. Dufvosa aud Rumon. 57

S. DAFROSA, W. C.

(A.D. 361.)

[Mentioned in Roman Martyrology, and in those of Bede, Ado, Notker,
Maurolycus, &c. All known of her is contained in the Martyrologies.]

This Saint was the wife of S. Flavian, a martyr. She was
one of the few who suffered in the reign of Juhan, the Apos-
tate ; having been sentenced by Apronianus, praefect of the
city, in Rome, along with her daughters, Demetria and
Bibiana. S. Flavian, her husband, was crowned on the 22nd
December ; and she followed him shortly. She was sent to
the house of a certain Faustus, who desired to have her in
marriage ; but she refused to become his wife, and converted
him to the faith. He was baptized by S. John the priest,
who is commemorated on June 23rd. Faustus was executed,
and his body cast to the dogs ; but Dafrosa saved it, and
buried it secretly at night. Then, in a dream, her husband
Flavian appeared to her, and called her to follow him. And
at the expiration of five days, whilst engaged in prayer, she
migrated to her heavenly country.

S. RUMON, B. C.

[Does not occur in the Roman Martyrology.]

William of Malmesbury infomis us that the history of
S. Rumon's life was destroyed by the wars, Avhich devastated
England. He was a bishop; but of what see we do not know.
Many of the early Saints of the Church in Cornwall, Wales,
and Ireland, received episcopal consecration, without juris-
diction. His body was preserved at Tavistock, in Devon-
shire, where Ordulf, Earl of Devonshire, built a church
under his invocation, before the year 960.

^ . — >J«

58 Lives of the Saints. [January «.

S. GREGORY OF LANGRES, R
(about a.d. 541.)

[Roman and Galilean Martyiologies. The life of S. Gregory of
Langrcs was written by S. Gregory of Tours, who died 591.]

Saint Gregory, one of the principal senators of Autun,
in France, was appointed count of the city, and for many
years administered justice with the utmost prudence and
uprightness. His ^vife, Armentaria, was also of senatorial
rank ; by her he had several children, of whom Tetricus was
numbered among the Saints.

After the death of his wife, having been elected by the
clergy and citizens of Langres to be their bishop, he was
consecrated by the metropolitan. As bishop, his life was
edifying. He was a model of humility, and sought, above
all things, to conceal his acts of self-denial, and long commun-
ings with God. He ate bariey bread, but that this might
not be observed, he had wheat cakes piled on the table
above his brown barley cakes, so that he could draw from
the dish those for his own eating, whilst the others ate wliite
bread, and supposed him to be doing the same. In like
manner, at table he used a dull glass goblet, so that
it might not be noticed that he drank water, whereas, the
others were supplied with wine. At night, he was wont
to rise from his bed, when everybody else was asleep, and
steal, on tip-toe, to the baptistery of the church, where he
passed several hours in prayer and singing psalms. This
was long unobserved ; but one night a deacon was awake,
and saw the bishop rise. Wondering at his proceeding, when
S. Gregory had left the dormitory, he rose also, and stole
softly after him, and saw him enter the baptistery, the gate
opening to him of its own accord. For some time there was
silence ; and then the bishop's voice was heard chanting,

^ i^

i^ _ — _ »J(

January 4.] S. GregOVy. ^9

and immediately many voices took up the psalm, and the
singing continued for three hours. " I, for my part," says S.
Gregory, of Tours, " think that the Saints, of whom the
relics were there preserved, revealed themselves to the
blessed man, and sang praises to God in company with
him."

One day, as he was walking to Langres, he was struck
with fever, and he died shordy after ; " and his blessed
countenance was so glorified after his departure, that it
looked like a blushing rose, whilst the rest of his body a\ as
shining like a white lily, so that it seemed then to have
a foretaste of its future resurrection beauty." He was
buried at Dijon, which was then in the diocese of
Langres, and his son, Tetricus, succeeded him in the see of
Langi-es.

There is much uncertainty about the date of his death.
In some Martyrologies he is said to have died in 535 j
Galesinius says in 524. But he was present at the Council of
Clermont, in 535, and signed the decrees of the third Council
of Orleans by his deputy, Evantius, the priest, in 538 ; but
did not appear at, or send a deputy to, the fourth Council of
Orleans, in 541. It is, therefore, probable that the see was
then vacant by his death.

In art, S. Gregory appears before a church door, which
an angel opens to him ; or with chains, because it is said
that as his body was being taken to burial, the bier was
set down before a prison, and the chains fell off the prisoners,
and they were freed at the same moment

^ — —Ij,

60 Lives of the Saints. [January 4.

S. PHARAILDIS, V.

(about a.d. 745.)

I Belgian and German Martyrologies. Authorities for her life :- A
MS. life from the monaster)' of Mont Gerard, published by the BoUan-
dists, and by Molanus on the Belgian Saints. Besides, we have mention
of her in the lives of her mother and sisters. ]

Saint Pharafldis was the daughter of Theodoric, duke
of Lorraine, and his wife, S. Amalberga. The family was
one of Saints. The brother of S. Pharaildis, on the mother's
side, was S. Emenbert, Bishop of Cambray, and her sisters
were S. Rainelda and S. Gudula. She was born at Ghent,
and after her baptism, was taken by her aunt, S. Gertrude,
to be by her brought up. She was married, but Hved with
her husband as though single. For thirty years she rose
every night at cock-crow, and sought the church of the
nearest monastery to hear prime, and matins, and lauds.
She died at the age of ninety, and was buried in the churcli
of S. Bavo, in Ghent, a.d. 745, but afterwards was carried to
Nivelles by the religious of Ghent, fleeing the incursions of
the Normans. A portion of the relics was left at Nivelles,
but the major part was brought back to Ghent, and enshrined
in the new church of S. Pharaildis, which was destroyed by
the Calvinists in 1566. The relics, however, were saved.
On the 17th Dec, 1608, the chapter of S. Pharaildis, in Ghent,
gave some portion to a little chapel at Steenockerzeel.

In Flemish, S. Pharaildis is called Veerle, or Verelde.

In art, S. Pharaildis appears as a patroness of Ghent, with
a goose in her arms, or at her feet, Gans being the Flemish
for a goose ; in base Latin, Ganta or Gansa; and the Latin
name of Ghent, in the Middle Ages, being Gantum. She
is also represented with loaves of bread ; for, according to
a legend, a woman having begged bread of her sister for her

* ^

^_ ^

Ja.iuary4.] kS". RigobeVt. 6 1

child, the sister said, " J have none to give to you ; there's
no bread in the house." And when the poor woman urged
her, she exclaimed, " May S. Pharaildis change the bread
into stones if there be any here." Whereupon, some loaves
she had by her were petrified.

S. RIGOBERT, ABP. OF RHEIMS.

(about a.d. 749.)

[Roman, Benedictine, and Gallican Martyrologies. Authority : — A life
of the 9th cent.]

Saint Rigobert, a Benedictine monk, was ordained
archbishop of Rheims in the year 696. He consecrated
Dagobert II., Chilperlc II., and Tlieoderic II., kings of
the Franks. In his diocese he laboured to restore dis-
cipline and sanctity of life. When Charles Martel and
Ragenfried were fighting for the mastery, the former
came with his troops before Rheims, and demanded to
be admitted. The bishop refused to open the gates,
" Because," said he, " I know not whether you or Ragen-
fried will be given the kingdom." Charles Martel went
away in a fury, and vowed, if he gained the day, he would
make the cautious archbishop suffer for it. When Charles
Martel had subdued his rival, he returned to Rheims, and
drove S. Rigobert into exile, and gave the revenues of the
see to laymen, creatures of the court. Wliilst at Rheims,
S. Rigobert had lived over the city gate, and kept the keys
of the town. The window of his chamber looked towards
the Basilica of S. Remigius, and at it he was wont to pray,
like Daniel, with his face turned to Jerusalem. That he
might easily, and at will, descend into the church of
S. Peter, which was situated near the gateway, S. Rigobert
had a hole knocked in a turret of the church, so that by a

* ^

* — .J.

62 Lives of the Saints. [January 4.

ladder he could descend into the church to prayer, and
return by it to a little oratory, dedicated to S. Michael, which
he had built on the city wall. But this oratory did not
stand very long, for King Louis gave the monastery of
S. Peter to his daughter Alpaida ; and her husband, Begus,
having knocked his head against the lintel of the door when
entering the little chapel— he being a very tall man — ordered
it to be pulled down, pretending that it cut off the light
from the windows of the church. " Humility," says the
chronicler dryly, "never knocks its head against any
thmg."

S. Rigobert, when in exile, retired to Gascony, but was
recalled by Pepin, and returned to Rheims ; but finding that,
contrary to canon law, Milo, an abbot, had been appointed
to tlie see, he went away to Gernicour, a village at no
great distance. At Gernicour, he lived in poverty, in great
humility and prayer ; sometimes he visited Rheims, that he
might celebrate on the altar of S. Mary, which had been con-
ceded to him by Milo. One day he was at Comiicy, and
visited the church of S. Cyriac, to pray for his poor diocese,
a prey to ravening wolves ; and his prayer being ended, he
conversed with Wibert, comptroller of Rheims, who invited
him to dine with him, as the table was ready. But S. Rigo-
bert answered, " I may not eat, as I have to celebrate mass
this morning in the church of S. Peter, at Gernicour."
Whilst he was speaking, a poor widow brought the deputy-
governor a goose. " Here," said Wibert, "as you will not
dine with me, take this goose home with you, and cook it
for your own dinner." Then S. Rigobert gave it to his little
serving boy to carry before him ; and he went on his way
saying his office ; when the goose flew out of the boy's
hands, and was gone. The boy was much grieved, and was
on the point of crying. The bishop, seeing the sad face of
the child, interrupted his psalm to console him, and to tell

January 4.] B. Augcla. 63

him that the loss of this world's goods should not draw forth
tears, but that the heart should trust in God, who gives all
things bountifully. Then the bishop resumed his psalms,
now reciting them to himself, and then breaking forth into
song. Presently the goose came fluttering down before the
feet of the old man, so the boy put it under his arm again,
and brought it safely to Gernicour. But it was not cooked
for dinner. Indeed, the bishop would not allow it to be
killed, and the goose became so tame, that it followed him
about, and would even accompany him on his walks to
Rheims, and wait there for him when he said mass at the altai
of S. Mary.

Relics, in the church of S. Denis, at Rlieims, and in the
chapel of S. Rigobert, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, at
Paris.

In art, he is represented with a goose.

B. ANGELA, OF FOLIGNI.
(a.d. 1309.)

[B. Angela was beatified by Pope Innocent XII. in 1693. ^^r life and
revelations were written by her confessor, Arnald, friar of the order of S.
Francis, in her lifetime, and the revelations were submitted to her for
correction.]

The Blessed Angela, of Foligni, belonged to a rich and
honourable family in Umbria. She was married, and had
children. Upon the death of her mother, husband, and
children, her heart turned in an agony of love to God alone,
and appeared filled to overflowing with that divine charity
of which an earthly affection is but a reflection. She was fre-
quent in prayer, and made a discreet use of the Sacrament
of penance. " Once she confessed her sins to me," says

Lives of the Saints,

{January 4.

Fiiar Arnald, "preserving the most perfect knowledge of
her sins, and was filled with so much contrition and tears,
from tlie beginning of her confession to the end, and with
so great humility, that I wept in my heart, believing most
surely, that if the whole world was deceived, God would
not permit her, who was full of so much truth and integrity,
to be deceived. The following night she was sick, well
nigh to death, and next morning she drew herself, with great
effort, to the Franciscan Church, and I was then saying mass,
and I communicated her, and I know that she never com-
municated without God giving her some great favour, and
that a new one continually. But so great were the consola-
tions and illuminations which she received in her soul, that
frequently they seemed to overflow into her body. Thus,
when she was standing with me, and her soul was lifted up,
her face and body were transformed, through joy, at the divine
words of address, and devotion, and delight at the con-
solations, tliat her eyes shone as candles, and her face
flushed like a rose, and became radiant and angelical, as
was beyond nature."

The inner life and meditations of the Blessed Angela
were wTitten down from her lips, and were read over to her
by the confessor. They are full of instruction and beauty,
and are of considerable length. She died on the 4th
January, 1309.

Her body reposes in a shrine in the Franciscan Church
at FoUgni

Januarys.] 6". TeleSphoVtlS. 65

January 5.
QTi^e Uigil of t|)e ^pip^ang.

S. Telesphorus, p. M., a.d. 139.

The Holy Martyrs in the Thebaid, a.d. 302.

S. Syncletica, A'., in Egypt, 4//1 cent.

S. Apollixaris Syncletica, F., e,th cent.

S. Simeon Stylites, //., a.d. 460.

S. Emiliana, y., 6lh cent.

S. Edward the Co.vfessor, K. of England, a.d. 106O.

S. Gerlach, H., near Maestrecht, a.d. 1170.

S. TELESPHORUS, POPE, M.
(a.d. 139.)

[Mentioned originaUy in the Carmelite Breviary. This Pope was in-
serted in the Roman Breviary by Clement VIII. He is commemorated by
the Greeks on Feb. 22.]

fAINT TELESPHORUS was by birth a Greek,
and was the seventh Bishop of Rome. Towards
the end of the year 128, he succeeded S. Sixtiis L,
and sat eleven years on the throne of S. Peter,
and saw the havoc which the persecution of Hadrian wrought
in the Cluirch. " He ended his Hfe by an illustrious martyr-
dom," says Eusebius.^

THE MARTYRS IN THE THEBAID.

(about a.d. 302.)

«' One cannot but admire," says Eusebius, in his Ecclesi-
astical History (lib. viii., c. 8, 9), "those who suffered in
Egypt, their native land, where thousands, both men, and

' Hist., lib. iv. c. 10.
VOL. I. S

Lives of the Saints.

January 5.

women, and children, despising the present Hfe for the sake
of our Saviour's doctrine, submitted to death in various
shapes. Some, after being tortured with scrapings and the
rack, and the most dreadful scourgings, and other innumer-
able agonies, which one might shudder to hear, were finally
committed to the flames; some plunged and drowned in the
sea, others voluntarily offering their heads to the executioners ;
others dying in the midst of their torments, some wasted away
by famine, and otliers again fixed to the cross. Some, indeed,
were executed as malefactors usually were ; others, more
cruelly, were nailed head downwards, and kept alive, until
they were destroyed by starving, on the cross itself But it
would exceed all power of detail to give an idea of the
sufferings and tortures which the martyrs of Thebais endured.
These, instead of hooks, had their bodies scraped with
potsherds, and were mangled in this way until they died.
Women, tied by one foot, and then raised on high in the air
by certain machines, with their naked bodies wholly un-
covered, presented this most foul, cruel, and inhuman spec-
tacle to all beholders ; others again perished, bound to trees
and branches. For, drawing the stoutest of the branches
together by machines for this purpose, and binding the
limbs of the martyrs to each of these, they then let loose
the boughs to resume their natural position, designing thus
to produce a violent action, to tear asunder the limbs of
those whom they thus treated. But all these things were
doing not only for a few days, or for some time, but for a
series of whole years. At one time, ten or more; at another,
more than twenty ; at another time, not less than thirty, and
even sixty; and again, at another time, a hundred men, with
their wives and Httle children, were slain in one day, whilst
they were condemned to various and varied punishments.
We ourselves, when on the spot, saw many crowded together
in one day, some suffering decapitation, some the torments

^ — — ^

Januarys.] MavtyTS ill tkc Tliebaid. 67

of flames ; so that the murderous weapon was completely
blunted, and having lost its edge, broke to pieces; and
the executioners themselves, wearied with slaughter, were
obliged to relieve one another. Then, also, we were wit-
nesses to the most admirable ardour of mind, and the truly
divine energy and alacrity of those that believed in the
Christ of God. For, as soon as the sentence was pronounced
against the first, others rushed forward from other parts to
the tribunal before the judge, confessing they were Christians,
most indifferent to the dreadful and many kinds of tortures
that awaited them, but declaring themselves fully, and in the
most undaunted manner, on the religion which acknow-
ledges only one Supreme God. They received, indeed, the
final sentence of death with gladness and exultation, so far as
even to sing and send up hymns of praise and thanksgiving,
until they breathed their last."

The names of these blessed ones, whose bones are
stre\vn over the deserts of Egypt, are unknown to us ; but
they are written in the Book of Life. At the day of the
general Resurrection they will rise and stand, on their feet,
a great army.

S. SYNCLETICA, V.

(4TH CENT.)

[S. Syncletica is commemorated by the Westerns on the 5th Jan., and
by the Easterns on the 4th Jan. Her hfe, written shortly after her death,
has been attributed to S. Athanasius, but on insufficient groimds.]

At a time when luxury was carried to extremities, and the
body was pampered, and the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eye, and the pride of life, were the objects for which men and
women lived, here and there the spirit of man throbbed with
higher aspirations, and yearned to break away from tlie gilded

^^-

Lives of the Saints.

[January 5,

round of wealthy frivolity, to live a truer life and breathe a
purer air. Society was rotten to its core ; decency was not ob-
served in conversation ; modesty was forgotten in dress, and
all that could gratify the flesh, and excite passion, was studied
as an art. In the midst of this hot, sickly atmosphere of
evil, pure souls, like that of Syncletica, stifled. The modest
mind of a young girl shrank into itself, like a delicate flower
that closes at the rude touch, and died to the world. If
she were a heathen, she bent her head, and sickened and
faded. If she were a Christian, she found in the shadow
of the Church, a fresh spot where she might bloom, fanned
by the breezes of Paradise.

Syncletica was born at Alexandria, of wealthy parents, of
Macedonian extraction, who had settled there. Being very
beautiful and well-dowered, she was sought in marriage by
many suitors ; but declined all offers, for her girlish heart
had awakened to a love truer and deeper than any human
affection ; the best of her love she gave to God, and she
desired to be His, and His alone. On the death of her
parents she devoted her attention to her blind sister; and
together, they served God in prayer and almsgiving. In
token of renunciation of the world, and to deliver herself
from troublesome pursuit by fortune-hunters, she cut off
her hair, and disposed of her estates, but she sought to avoid
notice in all that she did, and to conceal her good deeds and
self-sacrifices. Nevertheless, she became kno\vn, and young
maidens and women resorted to her for advice, and to study
her example. She was reluctant to be forced thus into a
position which she dreaded; nevertheless, unable to refuse
the girls and young women that assistance they so much
needed, she gave them much instruction, which has been
preserved to us in the record we have of her life, and her
words abound in practical common sense. " Listen to me,"
she said to the maidens; "we all know how we can be

January 5.]

S. Syncletica.

saved, but we fail through our own carelessness. The first
thing to be done, is to keep the commandment, ' Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour
as thyself; for in this consists all perfection.' These are few
words, but there is plenty of matter in them. Then beware
of retrogression. The corn in the Gospel brought forth ;
some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, and some thirty-
fold. Beware lest, beginning at sixty, we fall back to thirty.
Let those who are virgins take care of their eyes, and their
tongue, and their ears, and keep them in modesty, not
looking about them boldly, nor talking flippantly, nor hs-
tening to certain things that may be said. Obedience is
better than asceticism, for asceticism may puff up, but
obedience brings one down. There is an asceticism which
is of the devil. How are we to distinguish right asceticism
from that which is wrong ? By its moderation. Have you
begun fasting? Don't make pretexts to wriggle out of it on
the score of health, for the lady who does not fast is just as
much subject to maladies as she who does."

S. Syncletica died at the age of eighty, of cancer on the
mouth, and consumption in the lungs, from which she suf-
fered with great patience for three years. The cancer made
horrible ravages in her face, and became so distressingly
offensive, that to ward off infection from those who nursed
her, she allowed it to be treated with the mixture which is
used for embalming corpses.

Lives of the Saints.

Llanuary j.

->J<

S. APOLLINARIS SYNCLETICA, V.

(beginning of 5TH CENT.)

[Commemorated in the Latin Martyrologies on this day, but by the
Greeks on Jan. 4th. Her life, written by one who lived at the same time,
is given by Metaphrastes. This life represents her as daughter of An-
themius, the Emperor. Metaphrastes concludes, but wrongly, that she
was daughter of Anthemius, who was appointed Emperor of the West
by Leo L But it appears more probable that she was the daughter of
Anthemius, consular prefect of the city, who acted as regent after the death
of Arcadius, during the minority of Theodosius the younger. This Anthemius
was grandfather of the Emperor Anthemius. It is quite possible that the
regent may have received imperial honours. The narrative in one place,
speaking of the expedition of ApoUinaris to the Holy Land, says, " A few
days after, when we had found companions, we went on to the Holy City.
And when, at a certain place, we turned aside, on account of our burdens,
and the slaves and serving maids who were with us, we rested awhile."
This is the only allusion to himself made by the writer, and it is so casual,
that it is difficult not to regard it as an evidence of the authenticity of the
piece. The story is, however, so much like a romance, and is open to so
many critical objections, that it is difficult to accept it exactly as it is.]

Saint Apollinaris, called from her high rank Syncletica,
was the daughter of Anthemius. She had a sister of a differ-
ent spirit from herself The parents of Apollinaris desired
to unite her in marriage, at an early age, to some wealthy
noble, but she manifested such a fixed resolution to remain
single, that they yielded to her wish. In her heart she desired
to retire completely from the world ; having heard of the won-
drous lives of the recluses in Egypt, she longed greatly to
see and imitate them. Her parents having consented to her
making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, she visited the holy
places, and in Jerusalem she liberated all the slaves who
had been sent to bear her company, and dismissed them
■with liberal gifts, retaining in her service only an eunuch
and an old man to prepare her tent. In Jerusalem, she
bribed an aged woman to procure for her, secretly, the habit
of a recluse, and this she kept by her for a proper moment
On her way back she visited tlie tomb of S. Meria, on the

January 5.] 6". ApolHnaris. 7 1

Egyptian coast ; and after prayer retired to her sleeping tent,
when she assumed the monastic habit, and cast aside her
worldly dress, with all its ornaments. Then, in the night,
when the two men were asleep without, she stole from her
tent, and fled into the desert, and took refuge in a morass.
Next morning the servants were filled with consternation,
and sought her every\vhere in vain. Then they appeared
before the governor of the city Lemna (?) where they were ;
and he assisted in the search, but all was in vain ; so the
governor sent a letter to the parents of Apollinaris, with her
clothes and baggage, narrating the circumstances. Anthe-
mius and his wife wept when they heard of the loss of then
daughter, but consoled themselves with the belief that she
had entered some community of religious women.

However, S. Apollinaris made her way into the desert of
Scete, where lived S. Macarius of Alexandria, at the head
of a large monastery of recluses in cells and caves. Apolli-
naris, having cut off her hair, and being much tanned by
exposure to the sun, and wasted with hunger in the marsh,
where she had lived on a few dates, passed as a man, and
was supposed, from being beardless, to be an eunuch. She
spent many years there under the name of Dorotheus. Now
it fell out that her sister, being grievously tormented with a
devil, Anthemius bethought himself on sending her to Ma-
carius to be healed, for the fame of his miracles had spread
far and wide. But when the young girl was brought to
Macarius, the aged abbot, moved by some interior impulse,
conducted her to Dorotheus, and bade him heal the possessed
by prayer. Then S. Apollinaris earnestly, and with many
tears, besought Macarius not to tempt her thus, for God had
not given to her the gift of performing miracles. Never-
theless he persisted; then the possessed woman was shut
into the cell of Dorotheus for several days, that he might,
by prayer and fasting, cast the demon forth. And when, j

^ ^

->^

Lives of the Saints.

[Januar)' J.

after a while, the virgin seemed to be healed, she was re-
stored to the attendants, who conducted her to her parents
with great joy.

Some months after, the maiden suffered from an attack of
dropsy, and the parents, in shame and grief, supposing her
to be pregnant, questioned her closely thereabout. But she
could not account for her size, and when they pressed her
more vehemently, moved by the evil spirit, she declared that
Dorotheus, the hermit, had seduced her. On hearing this,
Anthemius sent to Scete, that Dorotheus should be brought
before him. The holy congregation was filled with horror
and dismay on hearing the charge, and they went with one
accord and cried to God to put away from them so grievous
a reproach. Then said Dorotheus, "Be of good courage,
my brethren, the Lord will reveal my innocence." And
when she was brought before Anthemius, she said, "I am
your daughter, ApoUinaris." Then they fell on her neck
and wept, and she prayed to God, and kissed her sister,
and the Lord heard her cry, and healed the damsel of her
disease. And after having tarried with them a few days, she
returned to the desert once more.

S. SIMEON STYLFFES, H.

(a.d. 460.)

[Commemorated on this day in tlie Latin Martyrologies, but on Sept.
1st by the Greeks. There were three of this name ; the second, who lived
at a later date, is commemorated by the Greeks on May 24th ; and the
third, whom they designate Priest and Archimandrite, on July 26th. These
two later Saints copied the great Simeon Stylites, of world-wide renown.
The life of this famous hermit was written by a disciple of his, named
Anthony, who was with him when he died ; and also by Theodoret, who
knew him well in life. Also, by Evagrius in his Ecclesiastical History.]

" Simeon," says Theodoret, " was bom in the village of
Gesa, between Antioch and Cilicia, and as a boy kept his

S. SIMEON sTYLrn-:s.

t'roni Hone's "livery Day Bouk.'

Jan., p. 72.

Ijan. 5.

-f

Januarys.] 6'. SiMeoii StyHtes. 73

father's sheep. One day, forced by heavy snow to leave
them in the fold, he went with his parents to the church, and
there heard the Gospel read, which blesses those who mourn
and weep ; which calls those enviable who have a pure heart.
And when he asked a bystander what he would gain who
kept the Beatitudes, the man propounded to him the life of
self-sacrifice. This," Theodoret adds, "he heard from the
Saint's own tongue."

Forthwith, Simeon going out of the church, went to a
neighbouring monastery, governed by one Timothy ; and
falling down before the gate, he lay five days, neither eating
nor drinking. And on the fifth day, the abbot, coming out,
asked him, " Whence art thou, my son ? What parents hast
thou, that thou art so afflicted ? Or, what is thy name, lest
perchance thou hast done wrong? or, perchance, thou art
a slave, and fleest from thy master?" Then the lad
answered with tears, " No, master ! I long to be a servant of
God, and to save my soul. Suffer me to enter the monas-
tery, and send me not away."

Then the abbot, taking him by the hand, introduced
him into the house, saying to the brethren, " My sons,
behold I deliver you this brother ; teach him the rules."
He was in the convent about four months, serving all with-
out complaint, and in that time he learned the whole Psalter
by heart. But the food which he took with his brethren, he
gave away secretly to the poor, reserving for himself only
food for one day in the seven. But one day, having gone
to the well to draw water, he took the rope from the bucket
and wound it round his body, from the loins to the neck, and
wore it till his flesh was cut into by the rope. One day,
some of the brethren found him giving his food to the poor ;
and when they returned, they complained to the abbot, say-
ing, " We cannot abstain like him ; he fasts from Lord's day
to Lord's day, and gives away his food." Then the abbot

<^ _ ^

^ ^

74 Lives of the Saints. [jan»arys.

rebuked him, and Simeon answered not. And the abbot
being angry, bade strip him, and found the rope round him,
sunk into the flesh, and with great trouble it was uncoiled,
and the skin came off" with it ; then the monks took care of
him and healed him. \Vl"ien he was healed, he went out
of the monastery and entered a deserted tank, where there
was no water ; no man knowing. After a few days, he was
found, and the abbot descended into the tank. Then the
blessed Simeon, seeing him, began to entreat, saying, " I
beg you, servants of God, let me alone one hour, that I may
render up my spirit ; for yet a little while, and it will
fail. But my soul is very weary, because I have angered
the Lord."

But the abbot said to him, " Come, servant of God, that
we may take thee to the monastery." But when he would
not, they brought him by force, and he stayed in the com-
munity about one year. "After this," says Theodoret, "he
came to the Telanassus, under the peak of the mountain, on
which he lived till his death, and having found a little house,
he remained in it shut up for three years. But, eager to
advance in virtue, he tried to persuade Blasus, who was
archpriest of the villages around, to leave nothing within by
him, for forty days and nights, but to close up the door wath
clay. The priest warned him that to die by one's own act
is no virtue, but is a great crime." "Put by me then, father,"
he said, " ten loaves, and a cruse of water, and if I find my
body needs sustenance, I will partake of them." Then
Blasus did so, and at the end of the days Blasus removed
the clay, and going in, found the bread and water untouched,
and Simeon lying, unable to speak or move. Getting a
sponge, he moistened and opened his lips, and then gave
him the Holy Eucharist ; and strengthened by this immortal
Food, he chewed, Uttle by little, lettuces and succory, and
such like.

->J<

Januarys.] S. Simcou StyHtcs. y^

When he had passed three years in that Httle house, he
took possession of the peak, which has since been so famous ;
and when he had commanded a wall to be made round him,
and procured an iron chain, he fastened one end of it to a
great stone, and the other to his right foot, so that he could
not, if he \vished, have left those bounds. But when
Meletius, Bishop of Antioch, saw him, he told him that if he
had the will to remain, the iron profited nothing. Then,
having sent for a smith, he bade him strike off the
chain.

The fame of the wondrous austerities of this man wrought
upon the wild Arab tribes, and eftected what no missionaries
had been able, as yet, to perform. No doubt the fearful
severities exercised by Simeon, on himself, are startling and
even shocking. But the Spirit of God breathes where He
wills, and thou canst not tell whence He cometh and whither
He goeth. ^Vhat but the divine Spirit could have caught
that young boy's soul away from keeping sheep, and looking
forward to the enjoyment of youth, and precipitated it into
this course, so contrary to flesh and blood ? Theodoret
says, that as kings change the impression on their coins,
sometimes stamping them with the image of lions, sometimes
of stars, sometimes of angels, so the divine Monarch pro-
duces different marks of sanctity at different periods, and at
each period He calls forth these virtues, or characters, He
needs for a particular work. So was it now ; on the wild
sons of the desert, no missionaries had made an impression ;
their rough hearts had given no echo to the sound of the
Gospel. Something of startling novelty was needed to catch
their attention, and strike their imagination, and drag them
violently to the cross. These wild men came from their
deserts to see the weird, haggard man in his den. He fled
from them as they crowded upon him, not into the wastes of
sand, but up a pillar ; first up one six cubits, then one twelve

-<^

76 Lives of the Saints. [Januarys.

cubits, and finally, one of thirty-six. The sons of Ishmael
poured to the foot of the pillar, " like a river along the roads,
and formed an ocean of men about it." " And," says Theo-
doret, " myriads of Ishmaelites, who had been enslaved in the
darkness of impiety, were illuminated by that station on the
column. For this most shining light, set as it were on a
candlestick, sent forth all around its beams, like the sun, and
one might see Iberi, Persians, and Armenians coming and
receiving divine baptism. But the Ishmaelites (Arabs,)
coming by tribes, 200 and 300 at a time, and sometimes
even 1,000, denied with shouts the error of their ances-
tors ; and breaking in pieces the images they had worship-
ped, and renouncing the orgies of Venus, they received the
divine Sacraments, and accepted laws from that holy tongue.
And this I have seen with my own eyes, and have heard
them renouncing the impiety of their fathers, and assenting
to Evangelic doctrine." Here was the result. Little did
the boy know, as he lay before the monastery door five days
without eating, to what God had called him ; for what work
he was predestined, when he coiled the rope about his body.
The Spirit had breathed, and he had followed the impulse,
and now he wrought what the tongue of a prophet could not
have affected. And it was worth the pain of that rope torn
from his bleeding body ; it was recompense for those long
fastinsTs.

■t>-j

" Three winters, that my soul might grow to Thee,
I lived up there on yonder mountain side ;
My right leg chain'd into the crag, I lay
Pent in a roofless close of ragged stones ;
Inswathed sometimes in wandering mist, and twice
Black'd with Thy branding thunder, and sometimes
Sucking the damps for drink, and eating not."

It was worth all this, if souls could be added to tlie Lord, as
they were, by hundreds and thousands. God's ways are

Ij( ■ ^

Januarys.] S. Swieoii StyUtes. 77

not as our ways. The God who needed these souls, called
up the soul of Simeon to do the work, and Simeon obeyed,
and traversed perhaps the most awful path man has yet
trod.

It is not for us to condemn a mode of life which there is
no need for men to follow now. It was needed then, and
he is rightly numbered with the Saints, who submitted his
will to that of God, to make of him an instrument for His
purpose in the way that He saw best.

" There came from Arabena a certain good man," says
Theodoret, "who, when he had come to that mountain peak,
* Tell, me,' he cried, ' by the very Truth, art thou a man,
or of incorporeal nature ?' But when all there were dis-
pleased with the question, the Saint bade them all be silent,
and bade them set a ladder to the column, and bade the
man come up ; and first look at his hands, and then feel in-
side his cloak of skins, and see not only his feet, but also a
severe ulcer in them. But when he saw that he was a man,
and the size of that sore, and learnt from him how he took
nourishment, he came down and told me all."

" On festivals, from the setting of the sun till its appear-
ance again, he stood all night with his hands uplifted to
heaven, neither soothed wath sleep, nor conquered by
fatigue. But in toils so great, and so great magnitude of
deeds, and multitude of miracles, his self-esteem is as mode-
rate as if he were in dignity the least of men. Besides his
modesty, he is easy of access of speech, and gracious, and
answers every man who speaks to him. And from the
bounteous God he has received the gift of teaching, and he
makes exhortations to the people twice every day. He may
be seen also acting as a judge, giving just decisions. This,
and the like, is done after the ninth hour. For all night,
and through the day to the ninth hour, he prays perpetually.
After that he sets forth divine teaching to those who are

78 Lives of tJie SamtS. [Januarys.

present, and then, having heard each man's petition, having
perfomied some cures, he settles disputes. About sunset, he
begins the rest of his converse with God. But though he is
employed in this way, he does not give up the care of the
churches, sometimes fighting against the impiety of the
Greeks, sometimes checking the audacity of the Jews, some-
times putting to flight the heretics, and sometimes sending
messages to the emperor; sometimes stirring up rulers to
zeal for God, and sometimes exhorting the pastors of the
churches to bestow more care on their flocks."

To make trial of his humility, an order was sent him, in
the name of the neighbouring bishops and abbots, to quit his
pillar, and new manner of life. The Saint, ready to obey the
summons, was about to step down ; when the messenger,
seeing his willingness to obey, said he was empowered to
authorize him to follow his vocation.

Once, his mother hearing of his fame, came to see him,
Dut was not allowed to enter the enclosure around the pillar.
But when Simeon heard his mother's voice, he said to her,
" Bear up, my mother, a little while, and we shall see each
other, if God will." But she began to weep and rebuke him,
saying, " Son, why hast thou done this ? In return for the
body I bore thee, thou has filled me with grief For the
milk with which I nourished thee, thou hast given me tears.
For the kiss with which I kissed thee, thou hast given me an
aching heart." " She made us all weep," says Anthony, who
writes this incident. Simeon, on his pillar, was also deeply
agitated, and, covering his face with his hands, he wept
bitterly, and cried to her, " Lady mother, be still a httle
while, and we shall see each other in eternal rest." The
poor mother, with harrowed heart, hung about the place for
three days, crying to her son, and wrung with grief to see his
terrible penance. Then Simeon, grieving for her, prayed to
God to give her rest, and at the end of those three days she

^—

^ — »J<

Januarys.] S. Simcon Stylites. 79

fell asleep in Christ. Then the people took up her body
and brought it where Simeon might see it. And he, weeping,
said, " The Lord receive thee in joy, mother ! because thou
hast endured tribulation for me, and borne me, and nursed
and nourished me with labour. Then he prayed, "Lord God
of virtues, who sittest above the Cherubim, and searchest
the foundations of the abyss, who knewest Adam before
he was ; who hast promised the riches of the kingdom of
heaven to those who love Thee ; who didst speak to Moses
out of the burning bush; who blessedst Abraham our father;
who bringest to Paradise the souls of the just, and sinkest
the souls of the ungodly in perdition; who didst humble the
lions before Daniel, and mitigate for the Three Children the
strong iire of the Chaldees ; who didst nourish Elijah by the
ravens which brought him food, receive her soul in peace,
and put her in the place of the holy Fathers, for Thine is the
power, for ever and ever."

A robber, Jonathan by name, fled to S. Simeon, and em-
braced the column, weeping bitterly, and confessing his sins,
and saying that he desired to repent. Then the Saint cried,
" Of such is the kingdom of heaven. But beware that thou
fall not again." Then came the officials from Antioch, de-
manding the poor wretch, that he might be cast to wild beasts
in the amphitheatre. But Simeon answered, " My sons, I
brought him not hither, but One greater than I. I cannot
give him up, for I fear Him who sent the man to me."

Then the sergeants, struck with fear, went away. And
Jonathan lay for seven days embracing the column, and then
asked leave to depart. The Saint asked him if he was
going to return to sin. " No, my lord !" answered the rob-
ber ; " but my time is fulfilled." And straightway he gave
up the ghost ; and when the sergeants came from Antioch,
again insisting that he should be given up to suffer for his
crimes, Simeon replied, pointing to the body, " He who

•i«-

Lives of the Saints.

[January 5.

brought the poor sinner here, has come with His angels, and
has pardoned this man Himself."

Anthony, his disciple, thus relates the death of the old
hermit. " After a few years, it befell one day, that he
bowed himself in prayer, and remained so three days, Friday,
the Sabbath, and the Lord's day. Then I was terrified, and
went up to him on the pillar, and stood before his face, and
said, ' Master, arise ! bless us, for the people have been wait-
ing three days and nights for a blessing from thee.' But he
answered me not, so I said to him again, ' Wherefore dost
thou grieve me, my lord ! I beseech thee, put out thy
hand to me.' And seeing that he did not answer, I thought
to tell no one ; for I feared to touch him, and standing
about half-an-hour, I bent down, and put my ear to listen ;
and there was no breathing. And so I understood that he
rested in the Lord ; and turning faint, I wept most bitterly ;
and bending dovvTi, I kissed his eyes ; and I cried, ' Master,
remember me in thy holy rest' And lifting up his gar-
ments, I fell at his feet, and kissed them, and holding his
hands, I laid them on my eyes, saying, ' Bless me, I beseech
tliee, my lord !' "

The body was taken to Antioch, and there buried with
great pomp.

S. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, K.

[S. Edward is commemorated on this day in the Roman Martyrology, by
order of Innocent IV. On this day, he is mentioned in the old EngHsh
Martyrologies as well, hut the festival of his Translation, Oct. 13th, is
that which is chiefly observed in his honour, and to that day we shall
refer our readers for his life.]

A^-

Januarys.] ^. Gevlack. 8l

S. GERLACH, H.
(about 1 1 70.)

[Mentioned in the Cologne, German, and Gallo-Belgic Martyrologies.
Two lives of this Saint exist, one written during the life of those who
remembered him, and were able to describe his personal appearance ; the
other written by Wilhelm Cripius, son of the Chancellor of Gueldres, by
command of the bishop, Henry Cuyck, of Roermurid.]

Saint Gerlach sprang from a noble family, in the neigh-
bourhood of Maestricht. He was a knight, and lived a
somewhat disorderly life ; but one day, as he was about to
engage in a tournament, the news reached him of the sudden
death of his wife, whom he loved passionately. Casting aside
lance and shield, he hastened to his castle, and in grief over
her loss, formed the resolution of renouncing the world.
He visited Rome, and confessed the sins of his life to Pope
Eugenius HI., who bade him, as a penance, go to Jerusalem,
and for seven years nurse the sick in its hospitals. He
obeyed, and on his return to Rome, at the expiration
of seven years, found Adrian IV. on the throne. Adrian
bade him live a retired life. Accordingly, Gerlach returned
to his estates, and distributed all his possessions among the
poor, reserving for himself only sufficient for his support.
He then took up his abode in a hollow oak ; but some
envious persons having complained to the Bishop of Liege
that he offered idolatrous worship to the tree, the bishop
ordered it to be cut down ; but afterwards, recognizing the
virtue of the penitent knight, he became his protector.
He wore sack-cloth next his skin, and over that a battered
suit of mail. He spent his nights in prayer, in the church
of S. Servais, Maestricht.

VOL. I.

82 Lives of the SamtS. [January 6.

January 6.

S. Mklchior, one of the Magi.

S. Macra, /'. M,, near Rheims, circ. a.d. 303.

S. MiLANius, B. of Rennes, a.d. jgo.

S. Peter, jib. of Canterbury, a.d. 60S.

S. Erminolp, jib, of Prufening, and M., a.d. ii2I,

The Ven. Gertrude Van Oosten, f., at Delft, a.d. 1358.

S. John Ribeira, Patr. of Antioch, and Abp. of Valencia, in Spain, a.d. 16:1

THE EPIPHANY.

HE principal design of the Church in celebrating
this feast is, that her members may show grati-
tude to God for manifesting the Gospel to the
Gentile world, and vouchsafing to it the same
privileges as to the Jews, who had hitherto been His chosen
and peculiar people ; the first instance of this divine favour
was the Manifestation of Christ to the Wise Men of the
East. But, in all, there are three great manifestations of our
Saviour commemorated on this day ; all of which, S. Chrys-
ostom says, happened on the same day, though not in the
same year. The first of these was His manifestation by a
star, which conducted the Magi to come and worship Him.
The second Manifestation was that of the Blessed Trinity, at
His Baptism. The third was the Manifestation of the
Divinity of Christ, at Cana, by miraculously changing water
into wine.

But the principal event which is this day celebrated, is the
Manifestation of our Lord to the Wise Men of the East.
These, who are called Magi in Greek, were doubtless men
of high rank. Tradition holds them to have been princes
or kings ; and they are given the names of Caspar, Melchior,

THE EPIPHANY.
From the Vienna Missal.

Jan., p. 82.]

[Jan. 6.

January 6.] T/ie Epiplmiiy. 83

and Balthasar. They are said to have been baptized by the
Aposde Thomas, and to have preached tlie Gospel in Persia.
Their bodies were brought by the first Christian emperors
fi-om the East to Constantinople, whence they were conveyed
to Milan. But the Emperor Frederick I. carried them off
to Cologne, in 1162, where they still remain.

Many very curious traditions, of no authority, have
attached to these three holy men. They were said to have
been Shem, Ham, and Japhet, who had fallen asleep in a
cave, and to have woke only at the Nativity of Christ, when
they came to adore Him ; and then to have returned to their
cave and died. A much more trustworthy tradition is to
the effect that each wise man belonged to a different stock ;
that one was of the seed of Shem, another of the family of
Japhet, and that the third, represented in art as black,
belonged to the descendants of Ham. The three names
Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, are not found in any writers
earlier than the twelfth century. Before Pope S. Leo the
Great spoke of them as three, the number was sometimes
supposed to have been as many as twelve. Barhebrseus
says, " Magi came from the East. Some affirm that three
princes came with a thousand men ; but James, the bishop
(of Edessa,) said that there were twelve princes, who, having
left seven thousand soldiers at the Euphrates, came on with
■a thousand men to Jerusalem."

Some authors have suggested that the seeming star, which
appeared to the Magi in the East, might be that glorious
Light which shone upon the shepherds of Bethlehem, when
the angel came to impart to them the tidings of our Saviour's
birth, which, at a distance, might appear like a star. Accord-
ing to an ancient commentary on S. Mattliew, this star, on
its first appearance to the wise men, had the form of a
radiant child, bearing a sceptre or cross ; and in some early
Italian frescoes it is thus depicted : —

84 Lwes of the Saints. [January 0.

" In a trice a star shone forth
Oh ! so brightly shining !
Nearer, nearer jet it came,
Still towards earth inclining ;
And 'twas shaped — O ! wondrous sight !
Like a child with visage bright.
Holding sign of kindly might,
With a Cross combining."

It is to be expected that the Epiphany, containing in itself,
as has been observed, three distinct festivals, would be
known by a variety of distinct names. In the Mozarabic
ritual it is called the " Apparition of the Lord ;" in Germany
it is the " Three-Kings' Day."

The Greeks keep the Nativity and the Manifestation to
the Wise Men on the same day, the 25th December, and
keep the 6th January as the festival of the Baptism of our
Lord.

The first historical notice of the Epiphany is found in S.
Clement of Alexandria, a.d. 200 ; in the time of S. Chrys-
ostom, A.D. 400, it is mentioned as an ancient and principal
festival of the Asiatic Church. The earliest distinct trace of
it in the West is found in Gaul, in the middle of the fourth
century. Ammianus Marcellinus (xxi. 2), relates of Julian
the Apostate, that in a.d. 361, he celebrated in the Chris-
tian Church at Paris, the feast of the Epiphany in January,
shortly before he publicly renounced the Christian religion.
The title of Day of Lights was given to this festival
as commemorating the earthly manifestation of the Light
of the World, and also because it was the supposed day of
the Baptism of our Lord, to which rite the term " illumi-
nation " was especially given. Hence it became, and in
the Greek Church it is still, one of the three solemn
times of baptism.

Greek Hymn. — O Christ, the True Light, which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world, let the Light of Thy

January 6,] SS. Mocva and Melanius. 85

Countenance shine upon us, that thereby we may behold
the unapproachable Light, and guide Thou our steps to
fulfil Thy Commandments.

S. MACRA, V. M.

(about 303.)

[Mentioned in the Roman and German Martyrologies. The account of
her martyrdom is from the Martyrologies, and from her Acts, published by
the BoUandists.]

During the savage persecutions of Diocletian and Maxi-
mian, emperors, one Rictiovarus was governor at Soissons,
in Gaul, who laboured to put down Christianity. The virgin
Macra was treated by him with inhuman barbarity ; she was
exposed to fire, her breasts were cut off, and she was rolled
on potsherds and coals ; then, spreading out her hands, she
prayed, " O Lord Jesu Christ, who madest me triumph over
the chains in my dungeon, and madest the fire to which I
was exposed as sweet as dew, I pray Thee, receive my soul,
for now is the time come for Thee to set my spirit free !"
So saying, she entered into her rest.

She is regarded as the patroness of Fimes, near Rheims.

In art, she is represented with her breasts on a book
which she carries.

S. MELANIUS, B. OF RENNES.

(A.D. 5S0.)

[Commemorated in the Roman MartjTology c n this day. His life wa-s
written by a contemporary, according to Ducange.]

S. Melanius was born at Plas, in the neighbourhood of
Vannes, in Brittany, and became a monk when grown to
man's estate. Upon the death of S. Amandus, Bishop of

>j, >i»

Lives of the Saints.

[Januar)- 6.

Rennes, he was compelled by the clergy and people to
fill that see. He accepted the election of himself with
great reluctance. He is related to have performed many
miracles, and to have extirpated the last remnants of
heathenism in his diocese. He died on a journey through
his diocese, at La Vilaine. His body was placed in a boat,
which, says the legend, returned to Rennes against the
stream, without oars or sail.

S. PETER, AB. OF CANTERBURY.

(a.d. 608.)

[Named in the English Martyrologies. Authority for his life, F.ede.
Hist. Eccl., i. 33.]

Bede says of this Saint, that he was a disciple of S. Gre-
gory the Great, and first abbot of the monastery of S. Peter,
at Canterbury, which was in later years called S. Augustine's
monastery. Going to France in 608, he was drowned near
the harbour of Ambleteuse, near Boulogne. The peasants
of the place buried the body without much regard, not
knowing at first whose it was, but by night a light appeared
above it ; and, perceiving that the drowned man was a Saint,
his body was exhumed, and conveyed to Boulogne.

S. ERMINOLD, AB. OF PRUFENING, AND M.

(a.d. 1 12 1.)

[Mentioned in the German Martyrologies. His life was written by a
monk of Prufening, about the year 1290. J

S. Erminold sprang from one of the first famihes in
Swabia, and was given in early life to William, abbot of

'*b

Al)UkATl( iN OK ■nil'. MAC I.

an., p. S7.J

[Jan. 6.

->h

January 6.]

S. Erminold.

Hirschau, to be educated. A better tutor could not have
been found for him, for WilUam was one of the most learned
and pious men of the age. The youthful Erminold made
rapid progress in his studies, and he grew up in favour with
God and man. When his pupilage was ended, he took the
vows of monastic life upon him. In mo, he was appointed
by the Emperor Henry V., to the abbey of Lorch, on the
Rhine; but hearing that this had been given him at the
request of his brother, as a return for something his brother
had done for the Emperor, Erminold threw up the office, so
as not to incur the least suspicion of simony, and returned
to Hirschau. But the Bishop of Bamberg, having founded
an abbey at Prufening, near Ratisbon, he was invited to
colonize it, and be its first father. He accordingly betook
himself thither, ^^'ith a few brethren. Having incurred the
hostility of some of his monks, by insisting on strict dis-
cipline, one, named Aaron, struck him with a knife and
mortally wounded him. He died, forgiving his murderer.

%-^;^

WorbLdppers at the Slxi-iou of a Saint.

88 Lives of the Saints. [innuaryj.

January 7.

S. LuciAN, p. M., at Aniioch, circ. a.d. 312.

S. NiCEiAs, B. C, circ. a.d. 402.

S. Valentine, B. of Passau, circ. a.d. mo.

S. ( EDD, B. of London, a.d. 664.

S. TvLLO, Monk in Gaul, circ. 700.

B. WiiTEKlN'D, Duke of ll'eslphalia, a.d. <Soo.

S. Rainold, Monk and M., of Dortmund, in ll'cstphalia.

S. Aldric, B. of Le Mans, in France, circ. a.d. 855.

S. Canute, Duke of Schlesiuig, a.d. 1133.

S. LUCIAN, P. M., OF ANTIOCH.

(about 312.)

[Commemorated on this day by tlie Latins, on the 15th October by the
Greeks. This S. Lucian is not to be confused with S. Luciaii of Beauvais,
commemorated on Jan. 8th. He is spuken of by S. Jerome and Theodoret.
S. Chrysostom has a homily on S. Lucian. Information concerning him
is also obtained from the Greek Menaea, and from the Acts of his martyr-
dom in Metaphras'.es.]

fAINT LUCIAN was born at Samosata, in Syria ;
liis parents were Christians, and sought above all
things to educate their son in the icar of God.
Both died and left him an orphan at the age of
twelve, and the boy, in his desolation, distributed his goods
to the poor, and took refuge with Macarius at Edessa, who
taught out of Holy Scripture the things concerning eternal
life. Arrived at man's estate, he was ordained priest, raid
opened a school at Antioch, and diligendy laboured at pro-
curing a correct version of the Holy Scriptures, by com-
paring together the different Hebrew copies. His version
of the sacred writings was used by S. Jerome, and proved
of much assistance to him in his work of writing the Vulgate.
When Maximian persecuted the Church, S. Lucian con-
cealed himself, but was betrayed by a Sabellian priest into

»i< . ■ ^

January 7] kS'. Lucia7l. 89

the hands of the persecutors ; he was taken to Nicomedia,
and brought before Maximian. On his way he was the
means of recovering forty Christian soldiers, who had lapsed.
In Nicomedia he was subjected to torture. His feet were
placed in the stocks, which were distended, so as to dislocate
his legs. His hands were fastened to a beam, which was
above his head, and he was laid on sharp potsherds, so thai
his back was lacerated and pierced. After this, he was
allowed to lie on his cell floor, unable to rise, on account of
his legs being out of joint, and was starved to death. He
lingered fourteen days. And when the feast of the Mani-
festation drew nigh, he desired greatly to receive the Holy
Eucharist. "When the fatal day had arrived, which was
looked forward to, some of the disciples desired to receive
from their master his last celebration of the divine mystery,
liut it seemed doubtful how they might bring a table into
the prison, and how they might conceal it from the eyes of
the impious. But when many of the disciples were
assembled, and others were arriving, he said : ' This breast
of mine shall be the table, and I reckon it will not be less
esteemed of God than one of inanimate material ; and ye
shall be a holy temple, standing round about me.' And thus
it was accomplished, for because the saintly man was at the
end of his life, the guards were negligent, and so God, as I
think, to honour his martyr, removed all impediments to that
being done which was proposed. For when all stood in
close ring round the martyr, so tliat one standing by the
other shut him completely from view, he ordered the sjan-
bols of the divine Sacrifice to be placed on his breast. After
that he raised his eyes to heaven, and uttered the accustomed
prayers. Then, when he had uttered many sacred prayers,
and had done all the requisite acts in the sacred rite, he and
the rest communicated, and he sent to those who were
absent, as he himself shows in his last Epistle to them.

90 Lives of the Samts. uanuar, 7.

Next day some officers came from the Emperor to see if he
were still alive. And as he saw them standing about him, he
said thrice, ' I am a Christian,^ and so saying, he died."

The body was then thrown into the sea, to the great grief
of his disciples, who desired to bury it. But fifteen days
after it was recovered. A legend says that a dolphin brought
it ashore ; be that as it may, it was found and was buried.

In art, S. Lucian is sometimes represented with a chalice
and Host, in allusion to his offering the holy Sacrifice in
prison ; sometimes with a dolphin at his side.

S. VALENTINE, B. OF PASSAU.
(about 440.)

[Some German Martyrologies, and the Roman, commemorate S. Maxi-
milian, M., and S. Valentine, B.C., on Oct. 29. But S. Valentine is coninn-
morated alone on this day at Passau.]

Valentine was sent by the Pope to preach the Gospel in
the Passau. He found that his work was without fruit, and
returned to Rome to implore the Holy Father to send him
elsewhere. But the Pope consecrated him bishop, and sent
him back to Passau, to preach in season and out of season,
whether it produced fruit or not. The Bishop renewed his
efforts, but the Pagans and Arians combined to drive him
out of the city. Thereupon he went among the Rhaetian
Alps, and his teaching produced abundant fruit among the
mountaineers. At length he resolved to serve God, and
purify his own soul, in a life of retirement. He therefore
built a little chapel and monastery at Mais, in Tyrol, and
there he died.

Relics, at Passau.

^- ^

S. CEDD.

Jan., p. 91. J

[Jan. 7.

^ ^

January J.] 6^. Cecld. 9I

S. CEDD, B. OF LONDON.
(a.d. 664.)

[English Martyrologies. His life is given by Bede, in his Ecclesiastical
H, story, lib. 3, caps. 21, 22, 23.]

Peada, son of Penda, King of Mercia, being appointed
by his father King of the Midland English, by which name
Bede distinguished the inhabitants of Leicestershire, and
part of Lincolnshire and Derbyshire, from the rest of the
Mercians ; the young king visited Os\vy, King of Northum-
bria, at Atwell, or Walton, was baptized along with several
of his nobles, by Bishop Finan, and was provided by
Oswy with two priests to instruct his people in Christianity.
One of these was S. Cedd, who had been trained in the
monastery of Lindisfame. "^^^len these two," says Bede,
" travelling to all parts of that country, had gatliered a
numerous church to the Lord, it happened that Cedd
returned home, and came to the church of Lindisfame to
confer with Bishop Finan ; who, finding how successful he
had been in the work of the Gospel, made him Bishop of
the Church of the East Saxons, calling to him two other
bishops, to assist at the ordination. Cedd, having received
the episcopal dignity, returned to his province, and pursuing
the work he had begun, with more ample authority, built
churches in several places, ordaining priests and deacons to
assist him in the work of faith, and the ministry of baptizing,
especially in the city which, in the language of the Saxons,
is called Ithancester,i as also in that named Tilabury
(Tilbury) ; the first of which places is on the bank of the
Pante, the other on the bank of the Thames ; where, gathering
a flock of servants of Christ, he taught them to observe the
discipline of regular life, as far as those rude people were
then capable.

' On the Blackwater ; there is no city there now, but numerous traces of an
ancient settlement, and an old chapel marks the site, In the parish of Bradwell.

Lives of the Saints.

[January 7.

*' Wliilst the doctrine of everiasting life was thus, for
a considerable time, making progress, to the joy of
the King and of all the people, it happened that the King,
at the instigation of the enemy of all good men, was mur-
dered by his own kindred. The same man of God, whilst
he was bishop among the East Saxons, was wont also to
visit, at intervals, his own country, Northumberland, to make
exhortations. Ethelwald, the son of King Oswald, who
reigned over the Deiri, finding him a holy, wise, and good
man, desired him to accept some land to build a monastery,
to which tlie King himself might frequently resort, to offer
his prayers and hear the word, and be buried in it when he
died ; for he believed that he should receive much benefit
by the prayers of those who were to serve God in that place.
The King had before with him a brother of tlie same
bishop, called Celin, a man no less devoted to God ; who,
being a priest, was wont to administer to him the word and
the Sacraments, by whose means he chiefly came to know
and love the bishop.

" That prelate, therefore, complying with the King's
desires, chose himself a place to build a monastery among
craggy and distant mountains, which looked more like
lurking places for robbers, and retreats for wild beasts,
than habitations for men. The man of God, desiring
first to cleanse the place for the monastery from former
crimes, by prayer and fasting, that it might become
acceptable to our Lord, and so to lay the foundations,
requested the King to give him leave to reside there all the
approaching Lent, to pray. All which time, except Sundays,
he fasted till the evening, according to custom, and then
took no other sustenance than a little bread, one egg, and
a little milk mixed with water. This, he said, was the
custom of those of whom he had learnt the rule of regular
discipline ; first, to consecrate to our Lord, by prayer and

January 7.] S. Cedd. 93

fasting, the places which they had newly received for build-
ing a monastery or a church. When there were ten days of
Lent still remaining, there came a messenger to call him to
the King; and he, that the religious work might not be
intermitted, on account of the King's affairs, entreated his
priest, Cynebil, who was also his own brother, to complete
that which had been so piously begun. Cynebil readily
complied, and when the time of fasting and prayer was over,
he there built the monastery, which is now called Lestingan,^
and established therein the religious customs of Lindisfarne."
At this time, owing to the influence of S. Wilfrid, who
had been established at Ripon by Alchfrid, son of King
Oswy, a great split was fonning in the Church, which made
itself felt even in the Royal family. All the missionaries of
the north had been brought up in lona, or Lindisfarne, and
followed the Keltic ritual ; Wilfrid, ordained by a French
bishop, introduced Roman ways. Oswy had been baptized
and educated by Keltic monks, and followed the usages of
the Mother Church of lona ; but his wife, Eanfleda, had
learned in exile Roman ways, and she brought with her to the
court of Oswy a Canterbury priest — Romanus by name, and
Roman in heart— who guided her religious exercises. Two
Easter feasts were thus celebrated every year in the same
house ; and as the Saxon kings had transferred to the chief
festivals of the Christian year, and especially to the Queen
of Feasts, the meeting of assemblies, and the occasion which
those assemblies gave them of displaying all their pomp, it is
easy to understand how painful it must have been for Oswy
to sit, with his earls and thanes, at the great feast of Easter, at
the end of a wearisome Lent, and to see the Queen, with
her maids of honour and her servants, persisting in fasting
and penance, it being with her still only Palm Sunday.-
To settle this difference, and prevent a rupture, the King

1 Lastingham, near Pickering, in Yorkshire. ' Bede iii. 2;.

'^-

>^-

Lives of the Saints.

[January 7.

convoked a parliament at Whitby, in 664. In this parha-
ment Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Cedd, Bishop of the
East Saxons, who had at this time re-estabUshed the episcopal
see of London, and S. Hilda, the great abbess of Whitby, up-
held the Keltic rite. On the other side were S. Wilfrid, the
young Prince Alchfrid, and James, the deacon of York. In
this parliament, it was decided that the Roman usages should
be adopted, and Cedd renounced the customs of Lindis-
farne, in which he had been educated, and returned to his
diocese of London to spread the Roman usages there.

" Cedd," says Bede, " for many years had charge of his
bishopric and of the monastery of Lastingham, over which he
had placed superiors. It happened that he came there at the
time that a plague was raging, and he fell sick and died.
He was first buried in the open air, but in process of time,
a church of stone was built in the monastery, in honour of
the Mother of God, and his body was interred in the same,
on the right hand of the altar."

The Bishop left the monastery to be governed after him
by his brother Chad, who was afterwards made bishop. For
the four brothers, Cedd, and Cynebil, Celin, and Ceadda
(Chad) — which is a rare thing to be met with — were all cele-
brated priests of our Lord, and two of them also came to be
bishops.

S. TYLLO, H.

(about 700.)

[Cologne, German, and Belgian Martyrologies. The name is sometimes
Tyllo, Thillo, or Hillo ; in Belgium, Theaulon or Tilman. Authority : A life
published in the BoUandists, which agrees with scattered notices of him in
various writers.]

S. TiLLO, the Patron of Iseghem, in Belgium, was a son
of Saxon parents, but was stolen, when young, from his
home, and sold as a slave in Gaul. S. Eligius, who re-

fb-

,j, qi

January J.J O. lyllo. 95

deemed many slaves, bo'ight the lad, and being struck with
his beauty and intelligence, sent him to the monastery of
Solignac, to be educated by S. Remade, then abbot of
Solignac. After his education was complete, he was re-
turned to S. Eligius, who was a goldsmith, patronized by
King Dagobert and the nobles of the court. With him
Tillo learned the trade of a goldsmith, and made many
vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, encrusted with
gems, for the King. ^Vl"lilst he worked, he had the Holy
Scriptures open before him, and as he chased the silver and
gold he studied the Word of God. He kept ever in his
heart the maxim, " Whatsoever ye would that men should do
to you, do ye even so to them," and all his work was done
to the best of his ability, and executed with punctuality.
Thus, he found favour with Eligius, and with all the
customers of his master. When Eligius left his shop, and
became a bishop, he called to the clerical office and to the
religious life, his apprentice whom he had bought in the
market many years before. Tillo, as priest and monk,
showed a pattern of holiness, and was made abbot of
Solignac, near Limoges. But ruling three hundred monks
and attending to the worldly affairs of a great monastery,
and more than that, the multitude of visitors, made the life
one for which the goldsmith's apprentice, trained to work
in silence, and think and read, felt himself unfitted ; so one
night he fled away and was lost. He penetrated the woods
and mountains of Auvergne, seeking out a suitable spot
for a hermitage, and one day he lit upon a quiet place, hid
away among the rocky mountains, into which he could only
just crawl on hands and knees. Having got in, he found
a pleasant glade, surrounded with trees, having streams
watering it from the mountain side, and there were plenty of
apple trees, from which he concluded it had been previously
a hermitage. Here he lived for some time, praying and

*^-

Lzz>es of the Saints.

[January y.

reading, and tilling the soil. By degrees, it was rumoured
that a holy hermit lived in that glade, and the people of the
neighbourhood came to see him, and he called himself
Brother Paul. And to all who visited him this was the rule
of life he gave, "Believe in God the Father Almighty, and
in Jesus Christ his Son, also in the Holy Ghost, three per-
sons, but one God. Keep your mind from vain cogitations
and your body pure from all uncleanness ; avoid self-conceit,
and be instant in prayer."

And when there was ever more and more of a concourse,
and many desired to put themselves under his direction, he
went forth, and sought out a suitable spot, and found it at
Bayac, where he founded a monastery. There he remained
some while, till a longing came over him to revisit Solignac,
and he lied away when all his monks were asleep, as he had
Hed previously from Solignac. And when he reached
Solignac, he was received with great joy. Then he asked
the abbot Gundebert to build him a little cell outside the
monastery, in which he might reside with one or two of the
brethren who sought a stricter life. His wish was granted,
and in this cell he spent the rest of his days.

He is regarded with special veneration at Iseghem, in
Flanders, because he visited that place in company with S.
Eligius, and there remained some time teaching the people.

In art, he is represented with a chalice in one hand and
an abbatial staff in the other.

S. ALDRIC, B. OF MANS.

(A.D. 855.)
fGallican Martyrology. Ancient Life in Baluze : Miscel. iii.]

S. Aldric was bom about the year 800. WHien aged
fourteen his father sent him to the court of Louis the Pious.

>J< . __ — ^

January 7.] S. Cauute Lavavcl. 97

One day, as he was praying in church at Aix-la-Chapelle, he
felt called by God to leave a hfe in the world, and dedicate
himself to the service of the altar. With difficulty he per-
suaded the King to let him depart, and he was sent to the
Bishop of Metz, There he remained some years, received
the tonsure, and was ordained priest.

Louis the Pious, hearing of the wisdom and sanctity of
Aldric, appointed him to be his chaplain and confessor.
Aldric was afterwards elected Bishop of Mans, and was con-
secrated on the 22nd December, 832. When raised to the
episcopal throne, he kept a stricter guard over himself, and
treated his body with great rigour, but to others he was
gentle and lenient. All his income was spent in works of
mercy. He redeemed captives, relieved the poor, built
churches, and founded monasteries. In the civil wars which
divided the French monarchy, his fidelity to his prince and to
Charles the Bald, his successor, involved him in trouble, and
he was expelled for about a twelvemonth from his see. On
his return, he laboured more indefatigably than ever to
perfect the discipline of his diocese, for which purpose he
collected the canons of Councils and decrees of the Popes
into what he called a Capitulary. Some fragments have
reached us of the regulations which he made for the cele-
bration of divine service ; in which he orders ten wax candles,
and ninety lamps, to be lighted in his Cathedral on all great
festivals.

S. CANUTE LAVARD, M.
(a.d. 1I33-)

[Schleswig and Scandinavian Breviaries. Life in Knytlinga Saga, Saso
Grammaticus, Schleswig Breviary, &c.]

Canute Lavard was second son of Eric the Good, King
of Denmark. His elder brother, Nicolas, became King of
VOL. L 7

Lives of the Saints.

[January 7

Denmark, though he was illegitimate, as Canute was very
young. Nicolas had a son named Magnus, who was also
brought up with Canute. Canute purchased the duchy of
Schleswig, and occupied himself with clearing the seas and
islands of Denmark of the pirates who infested them. On
one occasion, a pirate whom he had captured, and con-
demned with others to be hung, cried out that he was of
royal blood, and was related to Canute. " Then," said the
duke, " you shall hang at the topmast head above the others."
Henry, King of the Sclaves, being dead, Canute succeeded
him. The popularity of this prince, owing to his gentleness,
virtue, and piety, stirred up the envy of Magnus, who feared
lest he should put in a claim to the throne of Denmark, to
which indeed he had a right prior to Magnus and his father.
In order to make sure of the succession, Magnus decoyed
his unsuspicious kinsman into a wood, surrounded him with
armed men, and killed him.

Real cf the City of Ei-usae^s. S. Gudule, p. 115.

>j<-

ti( — — ^ ^

Januarys.] S. Lliciun.

January 8.

S. LuciAN, B. M., AND Companions, at Beau-vait.

S. Patiens, B. of Met%, circ. a.d. 1^2.

S. AlTicus, Patr. of Constantinople, a.d. 42J.

S. Severinus, p. and jipostle of Austria, a.d. 4!.3

S. Severinus, B. C, in Italy, 6th ctnt.

B. Baldwin', Archdeacon of Laon, M., bth cent.

S. pRODOBERr, Ab., at froyes, "jth cent.

S. GuDULA, y., at Brussels, circ, a.d. 712.

S. Pega, y., in England, circ. a.d. 718.

S. Erakd, Bishop in Ba-varia, 8th cent.

S. Garibald, B. of Ratisbon, circ. a.d. 1252.

S. WuLSiN, B. of Sherbourn, A.r. 983.

S. Laurence JusTiNiANi, Pair, of I'enice, a.d. (455.

S. LUCIAN, B. M. AT BEAUVAIS.

[Roman, Gallican, and Anglican Martyrologies ; Bede, Ado, Notker, and
others. His date uncertain. As little is known of this S. Lucian, it is prob-
able that the so-called Reformers retained his name in the Anglican Calendar
by mistake, confusing him with the S. Lucian of Antioch, Jan. 7th, a much
better known Saint.]

jHERE is much uncertainty about this martyr.

I Some writers maintain that he was a disciple of
S. Peter. Others say that he was sent into
Gaul by S. Clement, Bishop of Rome, at
the end of the first century, and suffered death under the
reign of Domitian. It is certain, however, that he came
into Gaul to preach the faith to the pagan inhabitants,
and that he finished his labours at Beauvais, by the death of
a martyr. There is good reason to believe that he was of
noble Roman blood, and that he accompanied S. Denys of
Paris, or S. Quentin of Amiens, on his mission, about the
year 245. S. Lucian was accompanied by his friends,
Maximian and Julian. They suffered in difterent places,
and on different days ; but they were laid by faithful disciples

lOO

Lives of the Saints.

[January 8.

in one tomb, and are commemorated together. S. Lucian is
called in some calendars a priebt ; but in an ancient one of the
ninth century, he is styled a bishop, and such has been the
constant tradition at Beauvais.

In art, he is represented holding his head in his hands.

S. PATIENS. B.

(about a.d. 152.)

[Roman Mavtyrology ; Martyiologies of Cologne, ofRabanus, Notker,
i&c. His life is traditional.]

S. Patiens is said to have been a disciple of S. John the
Evangelist, and to have been sent by him into Gaul. He
settled at Metz, where he became the fourth Bishop.

S. ATTICUS, PATR. OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

(a.d. 425.)

[Roman Martyrology, that of Usuardus and the German Martyrolo-
gies. Authorities for his life, very numerous : Socrates, Sozomen,
Synesius, Palladius, Photius, Nicepliorus, Zonaras, &c.]

AiTicus, a man of gentle spirit and conciliatory man-
ners, succeeded S. Chrysostom in the see of Constantinople,
lie, at first, refused to admit the name of his predecessor
into the diptychs \ but was afterwards moved to yield, in
accordance with the Latin Church, which refused communion
with the see of Constantinople till the righteousness of the
cause of the great Chrysostom had been acknowledged.
Atticus was engaged in correspondence on this subject with
S. Cyril of Alexandria, who vehemently resented the adtnis-
sion of the name of Chrysostom, till he also yielded at the
instance of Isidore of Pelusium.

►J<-

Januarys.] S. SeVCVinUS. lOI

S. SEVERINUS, P. AP. OF NORICUM.

(A.D 482.)

[Roman Martyrology and those of Germany. The hfe of S. Severinus was
written by his disciple, Eugippius, in the year 511, as he states in a letter to
Paschatius, the deacon. The following life is e.xtracted from Mr. Kingsley's
"Hermits,'" with certain necessary modifications. What has been once
well done, the author is unwilling to do again, and do in an inferior
manner.]

In the middle of the fifth century the province of Noricum
(Austria, as we should now call it), was the very highway of
invading barbarians, the centre of the human Maelstrom, in
which Huns, Allemanni, Rugii, and a dozen wild tribes
more, wrestled up and down, and round the starving and be-
leaguered to\vns of what had once been a happy and fertile
province, each tribe striving to trample the other under
foot, and to march southward, over their corpses, to plunder
what was still left of the already plundered wealth of Italy
and Rome. The difterence of race, of tongue, and of
manners,, between the conquered and their conquerors, was
made more painful by difference in creed. The conquering
Germans and Huns were either Arians or heathens. The
conquered race (though probably of very mixed blood), who
called themselves Romans, because they spoke Latin, and
lived under the Roman law, were orthodox Catholics ; and
the miseries of religious persecution were too often added
to the usual miseries of invasion.

It was about the year 455 — 60. Attila, the great King of
the Huns, who called himself — and who was — " the Scourge
of God," was just dead. His empire had broken up. The
whole centre of Europe was in a state of anarchy and war ;
and the hapless Romans along the Danube were in the last
extremity of terror, not knowing by what fresh invader their
crops would be swept off up to the very gates of the walled

1 " The Hermits," by the Rev. C. Kingsley. Macmillan, 1869, pp. 324, ajg.

* ' ^

->^.<

i02

Lives of the Saints.

[January &

towers, which were their only defence; when there appeared
among them, coming out of the East, a man of God.

^V]'lo he was he would not tell. His speech showed
him to be an African Roman— a fellow-countryman of S.
Augustine — probably from the neighbourhood of Carthage.
He had certainly at one time gone to some desert in the
East, zealous to learn " the more perfect life." Severinus, he
said, was his name ; a name which indicated high rank, as
did the manners and the scholarship of him who bore it.
But more than his name he would not tell. " If you take
me for a runaway slave," he said, smiling, " get ready money
to redeem me with when my master demands me back."
For he believed that they would have need of him ; tliat
God had sent him into that land that he might be of use to
its wretched people. And certainly he could have come into
the neighbourhood of Vienna, at that moment, for no other
purpose than to do good, unless he came to deal in slaves.

He settled first at a towoi, called by his biographer Cas-
turis ; and, lodging with the warden of the church, lived
quietly the hermit life. Meanwhile the German tribes were
prowling round the town; and Severinus, going one day into
the church, began to warn the priests and clergy, and all the
people, that a destruction was coming on them which they
could only avert by prayer, and fasting, and the works of
mercy. They laughed him to scorn, confiding in their
lofty Roman walls, which the invaders — wild horsemen,
who had no military engines — were unable either to scale or
batter down. Severinus left the town at once, prophesying,
it was said, the very day and hour of its fall. He went on
to the next town, which was then closely garrisoned by a
barbarian force, and repeated his warning there : but while
the people were listening to him, there came an old man to
the gate, and told them how Casturis had been already
sacked, as the man of God had foretold ; and going into the

--i

^ — — -^

Januarys.] S. SeVClHllUS. I O3

church, threw himself at the feet of S. Severinus, and said
that he had been saved by his merits from being destroyed
mth his fellow-townsmen.

Then the dwellers in the town hearkened to the man of
God, and gave themselves up to fasting, and almsgiving, and
prayer for three whole days.

And on the third day, when the solemnity of the evening
sacrifice was fulfilled, a sudden earthquake happened, and
the barbarians, seized with panic fear, and probably hating
and dreading — like all those wild tribes — confinement
between four stone walls, instead of the free open life of the
tent and the stockade, forced the Romans to open their
gates to them, rushed out into the night, and, in their mad-
ness, slew each other.

In those days a famine fell upon the people of Vienna ;
and they, as their sole remedy, thought good to send for the
man of God from the neighbouring town. He went, and
preached to them, too, repentance and almsgiving. The
rich, it seems, had hidden up their stores of com, and left
the poor to starve. At least S. Severinus discovered (by
divine revelation, it was supposed), that a widow named
Procula had done as much. He called her out into the
midst of the people, and asked her why she, a noble woman
and free-born, had made herself a slave to avarice, which is
idolatry. If she would not give her corn to Christ's poor,
let her throw it into the Danube to feed the fish, for any
gain from it she would not have. Procula was abashed, and
served out her hoards thereupon willingly to the poor; and
a little while afterwards, to the astonishment of all, vessels
came down the Danube laden with every kind of merchan-
dize. They had been frozen up for many days near Passau,
in the thick ice of the river Enns : but the prayers of God's
servant had opened the ice-gates, and let them down the
stream before the usual time.

►^:<-

>:^-

104

Lives of the Saints.

[January 8.

Then the wild German horsemen swept around the walls,
and carried oft" human beings and cattle, as many as they
could find. Severinus, like some old Hebrew prophet, did
not shrink from advising hard blows, where hard blows
could avail. Mamertinus, the tribune, or officer in com-
mand, told him that he had so few soldiers, and those so ill-
armed, that he dare not face the enemy. Severinus
answered that they should get weapons from the barbarians
themselves ; the Lord would fight for them, and they should
hold their peace : only if they took any captives they should
brin-? them safe to him. At the second milestone from the
city they came upon the plunderers, who fled at once, leaving
their anns behind. Thus was the prophecy of the man of
God fulfilled. The Romans brought the captives back to
him unharmed. He loosed their bonds, gave them food
and drink, and let them go. But they were to tell their
comrades that, if ever they came near that spot again,
celestial vengeance would fall on them, for the God of the
Christians fought from heaven in his servants cause.

So the l)arbarians trembled, and went away. And the
fear of S. Severinus fell on all the Goths, heretic Arians
though they were ; and on the Rugii, who held the north
bank of the Danube in those evil days. S. Severinus,
meanwhile, went out of Vienna, and built himself a cell at a
place called " At the Vineyards." But some benevolent im-
pulse— divine revelation his biographer calls it — prompted
him to return, and build himself a cell on a hill close to
Vienna, round which other cells soon grew up, tenanted by
his disciples. " There," says his biographer, " he longed to
escape the crowds of men who were wont to come to him,
and cling closer to God in continual prayer : but the more
he longed to dwell in solitude, the more often he was warned
by revelations not to deny his presence to the afflicted
people." He fasted continually ; he went barefoot even in

Januarys.] S. SeVeVmUS. IO5

the midst of winter, which was so severe, the story con-
tinues, in those days around Vienna, that waggons crossed
the Danube on the soUd ice : and yet, instead of being
pufifed-up by his own virtues, he set an example of humihty
to all, and bade them with tears to pray for him, that the
Saviour's gifts to him might not heap condemnation on his
head.

Over the ^vild Rugii S. Severinus seems to have acquired
unbounded influence. Their king, Flaccitheus, used to pour
out his sorrows to him, and tell him how the princes of the
Goths would surely slay him ; for when he had asked leave
of him to pass on into Italy, he would not let him go. But
S. Severinus prophesied to him that the Goths would do
liim no harm. Only one warning he must take : " Let it
not grieve him to ask peace even for the least of men."

The friendship which had thus begun between the barba-
rian king and the cultivated Saint was carried on by his son
Feva : but his " deadly and noxious wife," Gisa, who
appears to have been a fierce Arian, always, says his bio-
grapher, kept him back from clemency. One story of
Gisa's misdeeds is so characteristic both of the manners of
the time and of the style in which the original biography is
written, that I shall take leave to insert it at length.

" The King Feletheus (who is also Feva), the son of tlie
afore-mentioned Flaccitheus, following his father's devotion,
began, at the commencement of his reign, often to visit the
holy man. Kis deadly and noxious wife, named Gisa,
always kept him back from the remedies of clemency. For
she, among the other plague-spots of her iniquity, even tried
to have certain Catholics re-baptized : but when her husband
did not consent, on account of his reverence for S. Seve-
rinus, she gave up immediately her sacrilegious intention,
burdening the Romans, nevertheless, with hard conditions,
and commanding some of them to be exiled to the Danube,

^ — ij,

>b-

->i«

1 06

Lives of the Saints.

[January 8.

For when one day, she, having come to the village next to
Vienna, had ordered some of them to be sent over the
Danube, and condemned to the most menial offices of
slavery, the man of God sent to her, and begged that they
might be let go. But she, blazing up in a flame of fury,
ordered the harshest of answers to be returned. 'I pray
thee,' she said, 'servant of God, hiding there within thy
cell, allow us to settle what we choose about our owti
slaves.' But the man of God hearing this, ' I trust,' he said,
' in my Lord Jesus Christ, that she will be forced by ne-
cessity to fulfil that which in her wicked will she has des-
pised.' And forthwith a s\nft rebuke followed, and brought
low die soul of the arrogant woman. For she had confined
in close custody certain barbarian goldsmiths, that they
might make regal ornaments. To them the son of the afore-
said king, Frederick by name, still a little boy, had gone in,
in childish levity, on the very day on which the queen had
despised the servant of God. The goldsmiths put a sword
to the child's breast, saying, that if any one attempted to
enter, without giving them an oath that they should be pro-
tected, he should die; and that they would slay the king's
child first, and themselves afterwards, seeing that they had
no hope of life left, being worn out with long prison. When
she heard that, the cmel and impious queen, rending her
garments for gi'ief, cried out, ' O servant of God, Severinus,
are the injuries Avhich I did thee thus avenged ? Hast thou
obtained, by the earnest prayer thou hast poured out, this
punishment for my contempt, that thou shouldst avenge it
on my own flesh and blood ?' Then, running up and down
with manifold contrition and miserable lamentation, she
confessed that for the act of contempt which she had com-
mitted against the servant of God she was struck by the
vengeance of the present blow; and forthwith she sent
knights to ask for forgiveness, and sent across the river the

•i-<-

JaniinvyS.] S. SeVCldnilS. lO/

Romans, his prayers for whom she had despised. The gold-
smiths, having received immediately a promise of safety, and
giving up the child, were in like manner let go.

"The most reverend Severinus, when he heard this, gave
boundless thanks to the Creator, who sometimes puts off the
prayers of suppliants for this end, that as faith, hope, and
charity grow, while lesser things are sought. He may con-
cede greater things. Lastly, this did the mercy of the
Omnipotent Saviour work, that while it brought to slavery a
woman free, but cruel over much, she was forced to restore
to liberty those who were enslaved. This having been
marvellously gained, the queen hastened with her husband
to the servant of God, and showed him her son, who, she
confessed, had been freed from the verge of death by his
prayers, and promised that she would never go against his
commands."

To this period of Severinus' life belongs the famous story
of his interview with Odoacer, the first barbarian king of
Italy, and brother of the great Onulf or Wolf, who was
the founder of the family of the Guelphs, Counts of Altorf,
and the direct ancestors of Victoria, Queen of P^ngland.
Their father was ^decon, secretary at one time of Attila,
and chief of the little tribe of Turklings, who, though Ger-
man, had clung faithfully to Attila's sons, and came to ruin at
the great battle of Netad, when the empire of the Huns
broke up at once and for ever. Then Odoacer and his brother
started over the Alps to seek their fortunes in Ital}^, and
take service, after the fashion of young German adventurers,
with the Romans ; and they came to S. Severinus' cell, and
went in, heathens as they probably were, to ask a blessing of
the holy man; and Odoacer had to stoop and to stand
stooping, so huge he was. The Saint saw that he was no
common lad, and said, " Go to Italy, clothed though thou
be in ragged sheepskins : thou shalt soon give greater gifts

io8

Lives of the Saints.

[January 8.

to thy friends." So Odoacer went up into Italy, deposed
the last of the Caesars, a paltry boy, Romulus Auguslulus by
name, and found himself, to his oun astonishment, and that
of all the world, the first German king of Italy ; and, when
he was at the height of his power, he remembered the pro-
phecy of Severinus, and sent to him, offering him any boon
he chose to ask. But all that the Saint asked was, that
he should forgive some Romans whom he had banished.
S. Severinus meanwhile foresaw that Odoacer's kingdom
would not last, as he seems to have foreseen many things.
For when certain Gemian knights were boasting before him
of the power and glory of Odoacer, he said that it would
last some thirteen, or at most fourteen years ; and the
prophecy (so all men said in those days) came exactly
true.

There is no need to follow the details of S. Severinus's
labours through some five-and-twenty years of perpetual
self-sacritice — and, as far as this world was concerned, per-
petual disaster. Eugippius's chapters are little save a cata-
logue of towns sacked one after the other, from Passau to
Vienna, till the miserable survivors of the war seemed to
have concentrated themselves under S. Severinus's guardian-
ship in the latter city. We find, too, tales of famine, of
locust-swarms, of little victories over the barbarians, which
do not arrest wholesale defeat : but we find, through all,
S. Severinus labouring Hke a true man of God, conciliating
the invading chiefs, redeeming captives, procuring for the
cities which were still standing supplies of clothes for the
fugitives, persuading the husbandmen, seemingly through
large districts, to give even in time of dearth a tithe of their
produce to the poor ; — a tale of noble work indeed.

Eugippius relates many wonders in his life of S. Severinus.
The reader finds how the man who had secretly celebrated
a heathen sacrifice was discovered by S. Severinus, because,

Januarys.] S. SeVerilHlS. IO9

while the tapers of the rest of the congregation were hghted
miraculously from heaven, his taper alone would not light.
He records how the Danube dared not rise above the mark of
the cross which S. Severinus had cut upon the posts of a timber
chapel ; how a poor man, going out to drive the locusts off his
little patch of com instead of stajang in the church all day to
pray, found the next morning that his crop alone had been
eaten, while all the fields around remained untouched. Also
he records the well-kno\\'n storj', which has a certain awfulness
about it, how S. Severinus watched all night by the bier of
the dead priest Silvinus, and ere the morning dawned bade
him, in the name of God, speak to his brethren ; and how the
dead man opened his eyes, and Severinus asked him whether
he wished to return to life, and he answered complainingly,
" Keep me no longer here ; nor cheat me of that perpetual
rest which I had already found," and so, closing his eyes
once more, was still for ever.

At last the noble life wore itself out. For two years
Severinus had foretold that his end was near ; and foretold,
too, that the people for whom he had spent himself should
go forth in safety, as Israel out of Egypt, and find a refuge
in some other Roman province, leaving behind them so
utter a solitude, that the barbarians, in their search for the
hidden treasures of the civilization which they had extermi-
nated, should dig up the very graves of the dead. Only,
when the Lord willed to deliver them, they must carry away
his bones vvith them, as the children of Israel carried the
bones of Joseph.

Then Severinus sent for Feva, the Rugian king and Gisa,
his cruel wife ; and when he had warned them how they
must render an account to God for the people committed to
their charge, he stretched his hand out to the bosom of the
king. " Gisa," he asked, "dost thou love most the soul
within that breast, or gold and silver?" She answered

iio Lives of the Saints. [Januarys.

that she loved her husband above all. ' " Cease then," he
said, " to oppress the innocent : lest their affliction be the
ruin of your power."

Severinus' presage was strangely fulfilled. Feva had
handed over the city of Vienna to his brother Frederick —
" poor and impious," says Eugippius. Severinus, who knew
him well, sent for him, and warned him that he himself was
going to the Lord; and that if, after his death, Frederick
dared touch aught of the substance of the poor and the
captive, the wrath of God would fall on him. In vain the
barbarian pretended indignant innocence ; Severinus sent
him away with fresh warnings.

"Then on the nones of January he was smitten slightly
with a pain in the side. And when that had continued for
three days, at midnight he bade the brethren come to him."
He renewed his talk about the coming emigration, and en-
treated again that his bones might not be left behind ; and
having bidden all in turn come near and kiss him, and hav-
ing received the most Holy Sacrament, he forbade them to
weep for him, and commanded them to sing a psalm. They
hesitated, weeping. He himself gave out the psalm,
" Praise the Lord in His saints, and let all that hath breath
praise the Lord " and so went to rest in the Lord.

No sooner was he dead than Frederick seized on the gar-
ments kept in the monastery for the use of the poor, and
even commanded his men to carry off the vessels of the altar.
Then followed a scene characteristic of the time. The
steward sent to do the deed shrank from the crime of sacri-
lege. A knight, Anicianus by name, went in his stead, and
took the vessels of the altar. But his conscience was too
strong for him. Trembling and delirium fell on him, and he
fled away to a lonely island, and became a hermit there.
Frederick, impenitent, swept away all in the monastery, leav-
ing nought but the bare walls, " which he could not carry

>J<—

January 8.] ^S. SeVermUS. I I I

over the Danube." But on him, too, vengeance fell. "Within
a month he was slain by his own nephew. Then Odoacer
attacked the Rugii, and carried off Feva and Gisa captive to
Rome. And then the long-promised emigration came.
Odoacer, whether from mere policy (for he was trying to
establish a half-Roman kingdom in Italy,) or for love ot
S. Severiuus himself, sent his brother Onulf to fetch away
into Italy the miserable remnant of the Danubian provincials,
to be distributed among the wasted and unpeopled farms of
Italy. And with them went forth the corpse of S. Severinus,
undecayed, though he had been six years dead, and giving
forth exceeding fragance, though (says Eugippius) no em-
balmer's hand had touched it. In a coffin, which had been
long prepared for it, it was laid on a waggon, and went over
the Alps into Italy, working (according to Eugippius) the
usual miracles on the way, till it found a resting-place near
Naples, in that very villa of Lucullus at Misenum, to which
Odoacer had sent the last Emperor of Rome to dream his
ignoble life away in helpless luxury.

So ends this tragic story. Of its truth there can be no
doubt. M. Ozanam has well said of that death-bed scene
between the saint and the barbarian king and queen — "The
history of invasions has many a pathetic scene : but I know
none more instructive than the dying agony of that old
Roman expiring between two barbarians, and less touched
with the ruin of the empire, than with the peril of their
souls."^ But even more instructive, and more tragic also, is
the strange coincidence that the wonder-working corpse of
the starved and bare-footed hermit should rest beside the
last Emperor of Rome. It is the symbol of a new era.
The kings of this world have been judged and cast out.
The empire of the flesh is to perish, and the empire of the
spirit to conquer thenceforth for evermore.

I La Civilisation Chretienne chez les Francs. Paris, 1861, p. 41.

I 12

Lives of the Saints.

[January 8.

Relics, in the church of S. Severino at Naples.

Patron (but not sole Patron) of Austria, Vienna, Bavaria,

B. BALDWIN, M. OF LAON.
(6th cent.)

[German and Gallican Martyrologies. Life by an unknown author.]

The Blessed Baldwin, archdeacon of Laon, in the reign
of Dagobert, was the son of Basus, a nobleman, and Sala-
berga, who is numbered among the Saints. His sister's
name was Astruda, who is also reckoned a Saint. Baldwin
having incurred the enmity of certain evil men, was by them
treacherously murdered. The details are not known.

S. FRODOBERT, AB. OF TROYES.

(yTH CENT.)

[Gallican and German Martyrologies. S. Frodobert died on Jan ist,
but his body was translated on Jan. 8th, and on that day, accordingly, his
festival is observed at Troyes, and by the Benedictine Order. His life was
written by his disciple, Lupellus, and used in the compilation of a later life,
by a monk of Moutier la Celle, near Troyes, about 872.]

S. Frodobert, the son of parents of the middle class,
from the earliest age was inspired with the love of God, and
a wondrous gentleness and child-like simplicity. He is said,
as a little boy, to have healed his mother of blindness, as, in
a paroxysm of love and compassion for her affliction, he
kissed her darkened eyes, and signed them with the cross.
At an early age he entered the abbey of Luxeuil, where his
singleness of soul and guilelessness exposed him to become
the butt of the more frivolous monks. During the time that

(J, ^

January 8.] 6^ FvOClobert, I 1 3

he was there, a certain Teudolin, abbot of S. Seguanus, was
staying at Luxeuil for the purpose of study, and Frodobert
was much with him, being ordered to attend on the wants of
the visitor, and obey him implicitly. This Teudolin diver-
sified his labours with playing practical jokes on his gentle
assistant ; but Frodobert never resented any jest. One day
the abbot Teudolin sent Frodobert to another monk, who
was also fond of practising jokes on Frodobert, for a pair of
compasses, saying that he wanted them for writing. The
lay brother took the message without in the least knowing
what compasses were. The monk, suspecting that the abbot
had sent Frodobert on a fool's errand, put a pair of stones off
a hand-mill round his neck, and told him to take them to
Teudolin. Frodobert obeyed, but was scarcely able to
stagger along the cloister under the weight. On his Avay,
the abbot of Luxeuil, his own superior, met him, and amazed
to see the poor brother bowed to earth under this burden,
bade him throw down the mill-stones, and tell him whither
he was taking them. Frodobert obeyed, and said that the
abbot Teudolin had sent him for them, as he wanted them
for literary puiposes. The superior burst into tears, grieved
that the good, simple-minded lay brother should have
been thus imposed upon, and hastening to the visitor, and
then to the monk who had put the " compasses" about Fro-
dobert's neck, he administered to them such a sharp rebuke,
that from that day forward no more practical jokes were
played upon him.

As years passed, his virtue became more generally known,
and the Bishop of Troyes summoned him to be in attend-
ance on himself. The humble monk in vain entreated to be
allowed to return to his monastery; the bishop retained
him about his person in his palace.

As he was unable to return to the quiet of his cloister,
Frodobert withdrew as much as possible from the world in

VOL. I. 8

»j, ^ ^

>£<-

114

Lives of the Saints.

[January 8.

which he moved, into the calm of his own heart, and
practised great abstinence in the midst of the abundance
wherewith the bishop's table was supplied. Living outside
his cloister, he kept its rules, and in Lent he never ate any-
thing till after sunset. Those who were less strict in their
living, sneered at his self-denial, and told the bishop that
Frodobert kept a supply of victuals in his bedroom, and
ate privily. To prove him, the prelate gave him a chamber
in the church tower, and burst in upon him at all unseason-
able moments, but was never able to detect the slightest
proof of the charge being well founded. He, therefore, re-
gretted his mistmst, and restored the monk to his room in
the palace.

Frodobert was given at last, by Clovis II., some marshy
land near Troyes, and on this he built a monastery, which
he called La Celle, which was soon filled with numerous
monks, and became famous for the learned men it educated.
Here S. Frodobert spent many years. He passed his
declining years in building a church to S. Peter, and when
the church was completed, his strength failed, and he knew
that he had not many days to live. His great desire was to
see it consecrated on the teast of the Nativity, and he sent
two of his monks to the bishop to beseech him to dedicate
his new church that day. But the duties of Christmas, in his
Cathedral, rendered it impossible for the prelate to grant this
request. Frodobert received the refusal with many tears,
but lifting his eyes and hands to heaven, he prayed, and
God prolonged his days, so that he survived to see his
church consecrated on the Octave of the Nativity, Jan. ist ;
and when the ceremony was over, he resigned his soul into
the hands of God. The body was translated, some years after,
on the 8th January. The weather had been wet, and the
marshes were under water, so that the abbot and monks
were in trouble, because tlieir house was sun'ounded with

-f^

January 8.] S. Gudula. I I 5

the flood, and it would Le difficult for the bishop and clergy
of Troyes to attend the ceremony of the translation.
" Grant," said the abbot, " that the blessed Frodobert may
obtain for us a sharp frost, or we shall have no one here to-
morrow." This was said on the eve of the projected trans-
lation. That night, so hard a frost set in, that by morning
the whole surface of the water was frozen like a stone, and
the bishop, clergy, and faithful of Troyes, came to tlie
monastery over the ice.

S. GUDULA, V.
(about 712.)

[Gallo-Belgian and Cologne Martyrologies. Two lives of S. Gudula
exist, besides notices of her in the lives of other members of the family of
saints to which she belonged. One life, by a certain Hubert, was compiled
after 1047, the other is anonymous, given by Surius. That of Hubert is
an amplification of an older life, written in simple and rude style. He did
not apparently add anything to the history, except the account of the
various translations of her relics, up to his time ; but he re-wrote the life in
more pedantic and florid style.]

The date of the birth of this holy virgin is uncertain.
During the reign of King Dagobert, or of his son Sigebert,
there lived in Brabant a count named Witgere. His wife
Amalberga, who is said to have been the sister of Pepin of
Landen, presented him with many children ; Rainilda, Pha-
raildis, and Emebert, who occupied the episcopal throne of
Cambrai, and was afterwards elevated to the ranks of the
blessed. Amalberga was again pregnant, and an angel
announced to her, in a dream, that the child that should be
born to her, would be a model of sanctity. A few days
after, S. Gudula was born, and her relative, S. Gertrude, was
her sponsor, and took charge of her education.

ij, *

1 1 6 Lives of the Saints. uanuary 8.

Wlien Gudula was still a child, she longed to fly the world.
She and her sister Rainilda betook themselves to Lobbes,
and asked to be admitted into the monastery. But as women
were not permitted to invade its precincts, their request
was denied. After waiting three days at the gates, Gudula
turned away sorrowful, but her sister Rainilda, more perse-
vering, remained undeterred by repeated refusals, till, over-
come:;" by her persistency, she was allowed to live under the
rule of the monastery. Gudula returned to her parents ;
but living at home, she lived a recluse. In those wild
times of civil war and general violence, it is not surprising to
see gentle spirits flutter like doves to the convent gates, as
to an ark of refuge, from the storms raging without, which
they were so powerless to withstand.

About two miles from her parents' castle was a little
village named Moorsel, where was an oratory dedicated
to the Saviour ; thither went S. Gudula every morning at
cock-crow. And now follows an incident similar to that
related of S. Genoveva. One \vild night, the Prince of the
Power of the air extinguished the light which the servant girl
carried before the Saint \ and she, in profound darkness, on
a barren heath, knew not how to find the path. Gudula
knelt down and prayed to God, and the light rekindled in
her lantern, so that she went on her way rejoicing.

At early mass, one frosty morning, the priest, as he turned
towards the people, noticed Gudula ^vrapped in devotion,
and her feet were exposed from beneath her gown ; he saw
with dismay that there were no soles to her shoes, so
that though she appeared to be well shod, she in reality
walked barefoot. The good priest, pained to think that her
tender feet should be chilled by the icy stones of the pave-
ment, as soon as he had unvested, took his warm mittens,
and put them under the feet of the young countess ; but she
rejected them, much distressed that her act of penance had

* ^

^ — *

Januar)' 8.] S. GliClula. I I 7

been discovered. On leaving the church, she met a poor
woman, with her crippled dumb son on her back. The boy
was bowed double, and was so deformed that he could not
feed himself. The Saint looked at the poor mother and then
at the unfortunate child, and actuated by a movement of
compassion, she took the cripple into her arms, and besought
God to pity him. Instantly the stiff joints became supple,
and the back was straightened, and the child, feeling himself
whole, cried out : " See, mother ! see !" Gudula, abashed at
the miracle, implored the poor woman to keep what had
taken place a secret \ but she, full of gratitude, published it
abroad. When S. Gudula died, all the people followed her
body to the grave. She was buried on the 8th January,
712, according to the general opinion, in a tomb before the
door of the oratory of the village of Hamrae, near Releghem.
On the morrow, a poplar that stood at the foot of her grave
was seen, in spite of the season, to have burst into green
leafi

The body was afterwards transported to Nivelles, Mons,
and Maubeuge, through fear of the Normans ; and then was laid
in the oratory of Moorsel, which she had loved so well in
life. When Charlemagne came to Moorsel, he built there a
monastery, richly endowed ; but the convent disappeared in
the times of anarchy which followed the death of the
founder, and the body was finally taken from the robber
baron who had appropriated to himself the lands of
Moorsel, and brought to Brussels; where, since 1047, a
magnificent church has eternalized the memory of the
daughter of Witgere. The site of the chapel at Hamme is
now a kiln.

Gudula ; Frerich, Gudule ; Flemish, Goole.

Relics, at the church of SS. Michel et Gudule, Brussels.

1 So related in one of the lives. The other exaggerates the incident, and says tha'
in the night a poplar tree sprang up.

ii8 Lives of the Saints. u^nuarys.

Patroness of Brussels.

In art, represented with a lantern, and an angel kind-
ling it.

S. PEGA, V.

(about a.d. 718.)

[English Martyrologies. Authorities : Felix of Croyland, Florence
of Worcester, Ordericus Vitalis, lib. iv. c 17.]

S. Pega was the sister of S. Guthlac of Croyland, and
though of the royal blood of the Mercian kings, forsook the
world and led a retired life in the country, where now stands
Peakirk, in Northamptonshire. "There Pega, S. Guthlacs
sister, was for a long time a servant of the Lord. After her
brother's death, she used all her endeavours to wear out her
life for the love of Christ, by still severer austerities. She,
therefore, undertook a pilgrimage to Rome, to pray at the
threshold of the holy Apostles, for herself and her kinsfolk,
and she there triumphantly departed, on the sixth of the ides
(8th) of January."

S. Pega, called in Northnmptonshire S. Pee, is not to be
confounded with S. Bega, or S. Bees, who is commemorated
on September 8th.

S. WULSIN, B. OF SHERBOURN.
(a.d. 983.)

[Benedictine Martyrology. In English Martyrologies S. Wulsin was
commemorated on Sept. 27th. Mentioned by Matthew of Westminster.
His life is given by Capgrave.]

Matthew of Westminster says (De gestis Pontif, Ang-
lorum, lib. 2) : — " Dunstan, the archbishop, when he was
Bishop of London, made him (Wulsin), abbot of West-

J<-

minster, a place where formerly Mellitus had raised a church
to S. Peter, and here he formed a monastery of twelve
monks. Having discharged his office prudently and with
sanctity, he was made Bishop of Sherboum. Then he at
once instituted monks in the episcopal seat, and dismissed
the secular clerks, lest he should seem to sleep when so
many bishops of the time were patrons of diligence. His
sanctit}', if manifest in life, was more so in death. For when
he was nigh the gates of death, the eyes of his understanding
being opened, he exclaimed singing, ' I see the heavens
opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God !'
Which song he uttered without faltering, and singing, he
died."

S. LAURENCE JUSTINIANI, PATR. OF VENICE.

(A.I). 1 45 5-)

S. Laurence Justiniani died on Jan. 8th. He was beati-
fied by Clement VH., in the year 1524, and was canonized
in 1698 by Alexander VHL The 5th Sept., the day of his
consecration as bishop, is generally observed in his honour,
instead of Jan. 8th, and to that day we refer our readers for
his life.

>J< ■ *

1 20 Lives of the Saints, u-^nuaryg.

January 9.

S. Marciana, r. 71/ , hi Africa, ci'C. A.n. 300.

SS. Julian, Basilissa.Celsus, AND Companion;, MM ,i/fEt,y/(,circ.A.D. 310.

S. Peter, i?. oj Sebaste, circ. a.d. 3S7.

S. Marcellinus, ^. of Ancona, circ. A.n. 566.

S. FiLLAN, Ab., in Scotland, Zth cent.

S. Adrian, Ab., at Canterbury, a.d. 709.

S. Brithwald.^iJ/. of Canterbury, a.d. 731.

S. MARCIANA, V. M.
(about 300.)

[Roman, Spanish, German, and other Martyrologies. There is some
difficulty as to whether the African S. Marciana and the Saint of the same
name, honoured at Toledo, are to be distinguished ; but probably they are the
same. Some hagiographers have supposed that there were two, because at
Toledo, S. Marciana is commemorated on July 12th, but that is in all
probability the day of her translation. The Acts of the African Saint and
the Toledan hymn to S. Marciana, as well as the account of her in the
Mozarabic Breviary, relate the same incidents. None of these are of any
great authority.]

'AINT MARCIANA was a native of Rusuccus,
in Mauritania. When at Csesarca, in Mauritania^
she was brought before the governor on the
charge of having overthrowTi a marble statuette
of Diana, which stood above a drinking fountain in the
pubhc street.

For this outrage on the estabhshed rehgion, she was
scourged, and then dehvered over to the lust of the gla-
diators, but was miraculously delivered, for God was as
careful to protect the modesty of his servant, as was she
to proclaim the honour of His name.

She was exposed in the amphitheatre to a lion, which,
however, spared her ; but a bull gored her with its horns,
and a leopard despatched her.
Patroness of Tortosa, in Spain.

->^^

January 9.] S. y uHan. 121

SS. JULIAN, BASILISSA, CELSUS, AND
COMPANIONS, MM.

(about 310.)

[Roman IMartyrology and Greek Mensea. Authority : — The Acts of
these martyrs. They are referred to by S. Eulogius, the martyr, who
flourished about a.d. 850. They have been inserted by Metaphrastes
in his collection of the lives of the Saints, in Greek. S. Aldhelm of
Sherboume, wrote a panegyric on these Saints, in Anglo-Saxon, in
700 ; and S. Venantius Fortunatus wrote a hymn in honour of them in
620. The Acts purport to have been written by an eye-witness of the
martyrdom, for he says : — " We write the Acts of the Saints from what
we saw with our eyes, wherefore we hope to receive some little share in
future blessedness. " The writer survived to the time of Constantine the
Great, for he speaks of churches erected to the memory of these martyrs.
Nevertheless, the Acts cannot be regarded as genuine. They are
nothing but a religious romance, possibly founded on fact. Such re-
ligious romances were common in the Sth cent., written to supply
Christians with wholesome reading in place of the seiisual fictions of
Heliodoras, Achilles Tatius, &c. As there are no less than thirty-six
Julians in the Roman Martyrology, and of these seven are commemo-
rated in January, there is gieat liability to confusion. S. Julian seems to
have suffered on the 6th January ; but on account of the concurrence oi
the Epiphany, his memorial was transferred to different days in different
dioceses, and this again has proved an element of confusion.]

S. Julian was born at Antinoe, in Egypt, of noble parents.
The love of God, and God alone, filled his heart from
earliest childhood. At the age of eighteen his parents re-
quired him to marry. This troubled him much, for he had
read the saying of S. Paul, " He that is unmarried careth for
the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the
Lord : but he that is married careth for the things that are
of the world, how he may please his wife." i Cor. vii. 32, -^i.
He besought his parents to allow him to defer giving them
a final answer till he had well considered their proposal

122 Lives of the Saints. [January 9.

during seven days. He now fasted, and watched, and
prayed, revealing to God the desire of his heart, to keep his
body in virginity, and his soul devoted to God alone. At
the end of the seven days he saw Christ in a vision, who
said to him, " Fear not, Julian, to take thee a wife, and to
fulfil the desire of thy parents. As virgins ye shall serve me,
and I shall not be separated from you, and as virgins shall ye
enter into my kingdom." Then Julian was filled with great
joy, and he considered whom he should choose. Now there
was one maiden, Basilissa by name, who was well-known to
his parents, and with whom he had been acquainted from
childhood, and whom he loved for her whiteness of soul.
Therefore he told his father that he consented to marry
BasiUssa. And she, on her side, was glad to be the wife of
Julian, but her timid soul shrank from the cares and respon-
sibilities of marriage, for she was as yet young and fresh to
the world.

The marriage took place with all the boisterous merriment
and display, usual then as now ; and evening approaching,
the young bride was led by the maidens, who were her
fellows, to the nuptial chamber. Now when Julian entered,
there came an odour in the apartment, as of lilies and roses,
though the season was mid-winter, and an awe fell on their
young hearts. And they put their hands together, and
promised to serve God together in purity and fervour, with
singleness of heart all their days. Then they were aware
of One present in the room, and kneeling down, they
fell prostrate, and besought Him to accomplish the good
work He had begun in them. And when they looked
up, the chamber was full of light, and they saw Jesus
and Mary, and an innumerable company of virgin Saints.
Then the Lord said, "Thou hast conquered, O Julian, thou
hast conquered !" And the Blessed Virgin said, " Blessed

*- *

January 9.] 6. J uUaH. 123

art thou, Basilissa, who hast thvis sought with single heart
the glory that is eternal."

Then said Jesus, " My soldiers, who have overcome the
wiles of the old serpent, rise and behold what is prepared tor
you ! " Thereupon came two clothed in white robes, and
girded about the loins with golden zones, having crowns of
flowers in their hands, and they raised them from the ground
and showed them an open book seven times brighter than
silver, inscribed with golden letters, and round about it stood
four elders, having vials in their hands of pure gold, from
which ascended diverse odours. And one, answering, said,
" In these four vials your perfection is contained. For
out of these daily ascends an odour of sweet fragrance
before the Lord. Therefore, blessed are ye, because ye
have rejected the unsatisfying pleasures of this world to
strive after those which are eternal, which eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart
of man to conceive."

Then Julian looked, and beheld his name, and the name
of his wife, Basilissa, written in the book. And the elder
said, " In that book are written the chaste and the sober, the
truthful and the merciful, the humble and gentle, those
whose love is unfeigned, bearing adversities, patient in
tribulation, and those who, for the love of Jesus Christ, have
given up father and mother, and wife and children, and
lands, for his sake, lest they should impede the progress oi
their souls to perfection, and they who have not hesitated
to shed their blood for his name, in the number of whom
you also have merited to be written."

Then the vision passed. But Julian and Basilissa spent
the night in prayer, and singing joyful praises to the
Lord.

And when his parents were dead, Julian divided his house
and made it into a hospital, and all his substance he spent

»j, . >^

124 Lives of the Saints. [January q.

in relieving the necessities of the sick and suffering. He
ruled over the portion devoted to the men, and Basilissa,
his wife, at the head of a number of devout virgins,
governed the women's department.

Many men placed themselves under the guidance of
S. Julian, and assisted him in his works of charity, and
laboured for the advancement of God's glory, and the
salvation of their own souls. It is from the circumstance of
S. Julian having been the first to establish a hospital for the
sick, that he has been called by distinction Julian the
Hospitaller.

After many years, Basilissa died in peace ; her husband
JuHan survived her. In the persecution of Diocletian he
was seized and subjected to cruel tortures. The governor,
Marcian, ordered him to be dragged, laden with chains, and
covered with wounds, about the city. As the martyr passed
the school where Celsus, the son of the governor, was being
instructed, the boys turned out into the street to see the
soldier of Christ go by. Then suddenly the lad exclaimed,
" I see angels accompan}ang, and extending a glorious
crown to him. I believe, I believe in the God of the
Christians !" And throwing away his books, he fell at the feet
of Julian, and kissed his wounds. Wlien the father heard
this, he was filled with ungovernable fury, and believed that
the Saint had bewitched the boy ; he ordered them both to
be cast into the lowest dungeon, a loathsome place, where
the corrupting carcases of malefactors lay, devoured by
maggots. But God filled this hideous pit with light, and
transfonned the stench into fragrant odours, so that the
soldiers who kept the prison were filled with wonder, and
believed. That same night, a priest, Antony, who lived
with seven little boys, orphans committed to his care by
their parents, summoned by God, came with these seven
children to the prison. An angel went before them, and at

->J«

January 9.] S. Pcter. 12 5

his touch the gates flew open. Then Antony, the priest,
baptized Celsus and the believing soldiers.

On the morrow the governor, supposing that the night in
the pit had cured his son, sent him to his mother, and the
boy, having related to her in order all he had seen and
heard, she believed with her whole heart, and was baptized
by the priest.

The governor, Marcian, ordered all these converts to
death. The soldiers were executed with the sword, the
seven boys were cast into the fire, the rest were tortured to
death.

Relics, at Morigny, near Etampes, and in the church of S.
Basilissa, at Paris.

Patron of hospitals.

In art, S. Julian and S. Basilissa are represented holding
the same lily stalk, or looking on the Book of Life wherein
their names are written.

S. PETER, B. OF SEBASTE.
(about 387.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea. The life of S. Peter occurs in
that of his sister, S. Macrina, written by his brother, S. Gregory of Nyssa.
He is also spoken of by Socrates, Theodoret, and Philostorgius.]

The family of which S. Peter was descended was very
ancient and illustrious, as we are informed by S. Gregory
Nazianzen. It has become famous for its saints, for three
brothers were at the same time eminently holy bishops,
S. Basil, S. Gregory of Nyssa, and S. Peter of Sebaste ; and
their elder sister, S. Macrina, was the spiritual mother of
many saints. Their father and mother, S. Basil the elder,
and S. Emilia, were banished for their faith in the reign of
Galerius Maximian, and fled into the deserts of Pontus;

^ ■ _ ^

126 Lives of the Saints. Lianuaryg.

they are commemorated in the Roman martyrology on May
30th. The grandmother of S. Peter was S. Macrina the
elder, who had been instructed in the way of sal-
vation by S. Gregory the Wonder-worker. S. Peter ot
Sebaste, was the youngest of ten children ; he lost his father
whilst still an infant, and was therefore brought up by his
mother and sister. When the aged Emilia was dying, she
drew her two children — the only two who were present — to
her, and taking their hands, she looked up to heaven, and
having prayed God to protect, govern, and sanctify her
absent children, she said, " To Thee, O Lord, I dedicate
the first-fruits ; and the tenth of my womb. This, my first-
bora, Macrina, I give thee as my first-fruits ; and this, my
tenth child, Peter, I give thee as my tithe. They are thine
by law, and thine they are by my free gift. Hallow, I pray
thee, this my first-born daughter, and this my tenth child,
and son." And thus blessing them, she expired, says S.
Gregory Nyssen. S. Emilia had founded two monasteries,
one for men, the other for women ; the former she put under
the direction of her son Basil, the latter under that of her
daughter Macrina. Peter, whose thoughts where wholly
bent on cultivating the seeds of piety sown in his heart,
retired into the house governed by his brother, situated on
the bank of the river Iris ; and when S. Basil was obliged to
quit that post in 362, he left the abbacy in the hands of S.
Peter, who discharged this office for several years Avith great
prudence and virtue. Soon after S. Basil was made Bishop
of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, in 370, he promoted his brother
Peter to the priesthood. His brother, S. Basil, died on
Jan. ist, A.D. 379, and Eustathius, Bishop of Sebaste, an
Arian and a furious persecutor of S. Basil, died soon after.
S. Peter was consecrated in his room, in 380, to root out
the Arian heresy in that diocese, where it had taken deep
hold. In 38 1, he attended the general council held at

>^-

January 9.]

6". Fillan.

127

Constantinople, and joined in the condemnation of the
Macedonian heresy. His death happened in summer,
about the year 387, and his brother, S. Gregory of Nyssa,
mentions that his memory was honoured at Sebaste by an
anniversary solemnity. " Peter," says Nicephorus (lib. ii. c.
44), " who sprang from the same parents as Basil, was not so
well-read in profane literature as his brother, but he was not
his inferior in the splendour of his virtue."

S. FILLAN, AB.

(8th cent.)

[Scottish and Irish Martyrologies. Life in the Aberdeen Breviary.]

S. Fillan, whose name is famous in ancient Scottish and
Irish Calendars, was the son of Feriach, a noble, and his
saintly wife Kentigerna, daughter of Cualann, king of Leinster.
His father ordered him to be thrown into the lake, near his
castle, and drowned, when he was shown to him, for he was
somewhat unshapely. But, by the ministry of the angels,
at the prayer of his mother, he floated ashore. S. Fillan was
given by Bishop Ibar to the abbot Munna, to be educated.
As he wrote at night in his cell, he held up his left hand, and
it shone so brilliantly that he was able to write with the right
hand by the Hght shed by the left hand.

When the abbot Munna died (a.d. 635), S. Fillan was
elected to succeed him as head of the monastery of Kilmund
in Argyleshire. Afcer some years, he resigned his charge,
and retired to his uncle Congan, brother to his mother, in a
place called Siracht, a mountainous part of Glendarshy, in
Fifeshire, where, with the assistance of seven others, he built
a church He was buried at Straphilline, and his relics
were long preserved there with honour. The Scottish

1^-

128

Lives of the Saints.

[January cj.

historians attribute to his intercession a memorable victory
obtained by King Robert Bruce, in 13 14, over the English
at Bannockburn. His pastoral staff and bell still exist.

S. ADRIAN, AB. OF CANTERBURY.

(a.d. 709.)

[Anglican and some of the German Martyrologies. Life in Bede, Ecdes.
Hist., lib. iv., c. i, 2 ; lib. v. c. 20.]

" Deusdedit," says the Venerable Bede, " the sixth
Bishop of the church of Canterbury, died on the 14th July,
665. The see then became vacant for some considerable
time, until the priest Wighard, a man skilled in ecclesi-
astical discipline, of the English race, was sent to Rome by
King Egbert (of Kent), and Oswy, King of the Northum-
brians, with a request that he might be ordained Bishop of
the Church of England ; sending at the same time presents
to the Apostolic Pope, and many vessels of gold and silver.
Arriving at Rome, where Vitalian presided at that time over
the Apostolic see, and having made known to the aforesaid
Pope the occasion of his journey, he was not long after
snatched away, \^^th almost all his companions that went with
him, by a pestilence which happened at that time.

" But the Apostolic Pope, having consulted about that
affair, made diligent inquiry for some one to send to the
Archbishop of the English Churches. There was then in
the Niridian monastery, which is not far from the city of
Naples, an abbot called Adrian, by nation an African,
well versed in holy writ, experienced in monastic and
ecclesiastical discipline, and excellently skilled in both
Greek and Latin. The Pope, sending for him, commanded
him to accept the bishopric, and repair to Britain ; he
answered that he was unworthy of so great a dignity,

^ _ ^

January 9.] S. Adrian. 129

but said he would name another, whose learning and age
were fitter for the ecclesiastical office. And having pro-
posed to the Pope a certain monk, belonging to a neigh-
bouring monastery of virgins, whose name was Andrew, he
was by all that knew him, judged worthy of a bishopric ;
but bodily infirmity prevented his being advanced to the
episcopal office. Then again Adrian was pressed to accept
the bishopric, but he desired a respite for a time, to see
whether he could find another fit to be ordained bishop.

" There was at that time, in Rome, a monk called
Theodore, well-known to Adrian, born at Tarsus, in Cilicia,
a man well instructed in worldly and divine literature, as
also in Greek and Latin ; of known probity of life, and
venerable for age, being sixty-six years old. Adrian offered
him to the Pope to be ordained bishop, and prevailed ; but
upon these conditions, that he should conduct him into
Britain, because he had already travelled through France
twice upon several occasions, and was, therefore, better
acquainted with the waj-', and was, moreover, sufficiently
provided ^vith men of his own ; as also that, being his
fellow labourer in doctrine, he might take special care that
Theodore should not, according to the custom of the
Greeks, introduce anything contrary to the true faith into
the Church where he presided. Theodore, being ordained
sub-deacon, waited four months for his hair to grow, that it
might be shorn into the shape of a crown ; for he had
before the tonsure of S. PauP the Apostle, after the manner
of the Easterns. He was ordained by Pope Vitalian, in the
year of the Lord 668, on Sunday, the 26th of March, and
on the 27th of May was sent with Adrian into Britain.

" They proceeded by sea to Marseilles, and thence by
land to Aries, and having delivered to John, Archbishop of
that city, Pope Vitalian's letters of recommendation, were by

* This tonsure consisted in shaving the whole head.
VOL. I, 9

^_ ^

130 Lives of the Saints. [januar)-9.

him detained, till Ebroin, the king's mayor of the palace, sent
them a pass to go where they pleased. Having received
the same, Theodore repaired to Agilbert, Bishop of Paris,
and was by him kindly received, and long entertained.
But Adrian went first to Emme, and then to Faro, Bishops
of Sens and Meaux, and lived with them a considerable
time ; for the hard winter had obliged them to rest where-
ever they could. King Egbert, being infonned by messen-
gers, that the bishop they had asked of the Roman prelate
was in the kingdom of France, sent thither his prsefect,
Redford, to conduct him ; who, being arrived there, with
Ebroin's leave, conveyed him to the port of Quentavic
(S. Quentin) ; where, being indisposed, he made some stay,
and as soon as he began to recover, sailed over into
Britain. But Ebroin detained Adrian, suspecting that he
went on some message from the Emperor to the kings of
Britain, to the prejudice of the kingdom, of which he at that
time took especial care ; however, when he found that he
really had no such commission, he discharged him, and per-
mitted him to follow Theodore.

"As soon as he came, he received from him the mon-
astery of S. Peter the Apostle, where the Archbishops of
Canterbury are usually buried ; for at his departure, the
Apostolic Lord had ordered that Theodore should provide
for him in his diocese, and give him a suitable place to live
in with his followers.

" Theodore arrived in his church the second year after
his consecration, on Sunday, May 27th. Soon after, he
visited all the island, wherever the tribes of the Angles
inhabited ; and everywhere attended and assisted by Adrian,
he taught the right rule of life, and the canonical custom of
celebrating Easter. This was the first Archbishop whom all
the Enghsh Church obeyed. And forasmuch as both of
them were well read in both sacred and secular literature,

*— — *

^ — . ^

January 9.] 6'. BHtwald. I3I

they gathered a crowd of disciples, and there flowed from
them daily rivers of knowledge to water the hearts of
their hearers ; and, together with the books of Holy Writ,
they also taught them the arts of ecclesiastical poetry,
astronomy, and arithmetic. A testimony of which is, that
there are still living at this day some of their scholars, who
are as well versed in the Greek and Latin tongues as in
their own, in which they were bom. Nor were there ever
happier times since the English came into Britain ; for their
kings, being brave men and good Christians, were a
terror to all barbarous nations, and the minds of all men
were bent upon the joys of the heavenly kingdom of which
they had just heard ; and all who desired to be instructed in
sacred reading had masters at hand to teach them."

S. Adrian died a.d. 709, after having spent thirty-nine
years in Britain. His tomb was fiirnous for miracles
wrought at it

S. BRITHWALD, ABP. OF CANTERBURY.

(a.d. 731.)

[Bede, lib. v., c. 8, 23. William of Malmesbury : De Gest. Pontificum
Anglorum ; Roger of Hoveden ; Matthew of Westminster, &c. He is
called also Bretwald and Berthwald.]

Bede says that after the death of S. Theodore, Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, in 690, " Berthwald succeeded,
being abbot of the monastery of Reculver, which lies on the
north side of the mouth of the river Inlade. He was a man
learned in the Scriptures, and well instructed in ecclesias-
tical and monastic discipline, yet not to be compared with
his predecessor. He was chosen Bishop in the year of our
Lord's Incarnation, 692, on the first day of July, Withred

132

Lives of the Samts.

[January 9,

and Suebhard being kings of Kent ; he was consecrated
the next year, on Sunday, the 29th June, by Godwin,
MetropoUtan Bishop of France, and was enthroned on
Sunday, April 31st."

" In the year of our Lord's Incarnation, 731, Archbishop
Berthwald died of old age, on the 9th of January, having
held his see thirty-seven years six months and fourteet
days."

S. Genoveva. Jan. 3, p. 46.

January 10.] SS. TllCcla aud ^113^71(7. 1 33

January 10.

S. NiCANOR, M., A.D. 76.

SS. Thecla, F., rtHfz' JiSTlNA, Confessors in Sicily, -^rd itnt.

S. Marcian, p. C , at Constantinople, circ. a.d. 476.

S. DOMITIAN-, B. C, in Aiinenia, circ. a.d. 600.

S. Agatho, Pope of Rotne, a.d. 682.

S. Sethrida, v.. Abbess of Brie, in France, Ttk cent

S. William, Ab. and Abp. of Bourges, a.d. 1209.

S. GoNSALVo, P. C, in Portugal, a.d. 1259.

B. Christiana, or Oringa, V., in Etruria, a.d. 1310.

S. NICANOR, M.
(a.d. 76.)

[Roman Martyrology. Commemorated by the Greeks on July 28th and
December 28th.]

AINT NICANOR, one of the first seven
deacons appointed by the Apostles, was a native
of Cyprus, to which he returned, that he might
preach the Gospel on the dispersion of the
Apostles. He was variously tortured and then executed,
in the reign of Vespasian, but where is not known.

SS. THECLA, v., AND JUSTIN.\,

(3RD CENT.)

[Authority for the lives of these Saints : the lections in the proper offices
for this day in the church of Lentini, in Sicily.]

S. Thecla was a noble virgin of Lentini, and daughter ot
S. Isidore. She buried the bodies of the martyrs with
loving reverence. For three years she suffered from para-
lysis, and could not leave her bed, but was healed by the
prayers of SS. Alphius, Philadelphus, and Cyrinus. When

^ iji

^ *

134 Lives of the Saints. [January 10.

they were in prison for the faith, she visited them and
ministered to their neccessities, and when they had been
slain and cast into a well, she extracted the bodies and
buried them. Tertullus, the governor, hearing of this,
sent for her, but his sudden death saved her from injury.
During the persecution, she concealed Agatho, Bishop of
Lipari, in one of her farms ; and when the persecution
was over, she and her friend Justina spent their fortunes
in works of mercy.

S. MARCIAN, P.
(about 476.)

[Honoured in the Greek Menasa and Roman Martyrology on the same
day. His life, by an anonymous writer, is given by Simeon Metaphrastes.]

S. Marcian was born at Constantinople ; he belonged to
a noble Roman family, related to that of the Emperor
Theodosius. From his childhood he served God in watch-
ing, fasting, and prayer. His great compassion for the ne-
cessities of the poor made it impossible for him to refuse
relief, when he had anything to give away.

In the reign of the Emperor Marcian, Anatolius, the Arch-
bishop, ordained him priest. His love for the poor mani-
fested itself, not merely in abundant almsgiving, but also in
his making their instruction in the truth his favourite pur-
suit. The severity of his morals was made a handle by
those who feared the example of his virtue, as a tacit rebuke
of their sloth and avarice, to fasten on him a suspicion of
Novatianism ; but his meekness and silence triumphed over
this, and other slanders.

The patriarch Gennadius conferred on him the dignity of
treasurer of the church of Constantinople. S. Marcian
built, or repaired, in a stately manner a great number of

•5< -gg

January lo.] ,S. Marclan. 135

churches. The follo\ving incident is related of the dedi-
cation of the church of S. Anastasia, for which he had ob-
tained a site, and which he had built in spite of numerous
impediments. On the day that the church was to be con-
secrated, he was on his way to attend the ceremony, when
he was accosted in the street by a very poor man, whose
rags scarce held together, and who implored him, for the
love of God, to give him an alms. S. Marcian felt in his
bosom, but found he had no money there. The pauper
would take no refusal, and the compassionate heart of the
treasurer was melted at the aspect of his tatters and ema-
ciation. Quickly he slipped off the tunic he wore under his
sacerdotal vestments, handed it to the beggar, and then
hurried on to the new church, drawing his alb and chasuble
about him, to conceal the deficiency of a nether garment.
The church was crowded, the Emperor Leo and the Empress,
the senate, and almost the whole city were present. Mar-
cian was bidden celebrate the Holy Sacrifice before all, in
the new church he had built. So, full of shame, he began,
hoping that the folds of his chasuble would conceal the
absence of a tunic. But all saw him as though clothed
beneath his sacerdotal vestments with a garment as of pure
gold, which flashed as he moved. The patriarch Gennadius
was offended, and rebuked him when the hturgy was over,
for having worn a private garment, more splendid than his
ecclesiastical vesture, and worthy only of an emperor. Mar-
cian fell at his feet, and denied that he had worn any such
raiment. Then Gennadius, wroth at his having spoken
falsely, as he thought, for he supposed his eyes could not have
been deceived, caught him by the vesture, and drew it aside,
and behold ! Marcian was bare of all other garments save
his sacerdotal apparel.

S. Marcian built also the church of S. Irene, another of
S. Isidore, and a baptistery of magnificent appearance, sur-

>j, — ii<

136 Lives of the Saints. [ja""^^) 'o.

rounded with five porches, Hke that at Jerusalem. "But this
one," says the chronicler, "was greater than that by the sheep
market, for here greater miracles were -ftTought than there.
To that, an angel descended on one day in the year, and
healed but one at a time ; at this, whenever a servant of the
Lord ministers, Christ himself is present. The healing,
moreover, is not but once a year, but daily, and not of
bodies only, but of souls as well."

S. Marcian's great compassion extended to women of bad
character, and despising the slander and gossip which he
might occasion, by visiting them in their houses, setting only
before his eyes the blessedness of plucking these brands from
the burning, he often sought them out in haunts of crime \
and if they had taken up evil courses through poverty only,
he found for them honest occupations, and by his exliorta-
tions and tears, and his overflowing charity, he convinced
and persuaded many of these unhappy women, so that they
came openly and did penance, and some he sent pilgrimages
to Jerusalem, and some went into solitude, and recom-
pensed for the past by self-mortification in the desert.

S. DOMITIAN, B. C
(about 600.)

[Greek Menasa and Roman Martyrology. His life in the Menasa, and
fuller by Theophylact Simocatta. He is mentioned also by Evagrius, his
contemporary. A letter to him from S. Gregory the Pope, is ex'.ant,
praising his learning, prudence and zeal.]

S. DoMiTiAN was the son of pious parents, Theodore and
Eudoxia by name. He was an intimate friend, if not, as
Evagrius says, " a kinsman of the Emperor Maurice." He
was married for a few years, but his wife dying, he devoted
himself to the services of the Church, and was consecrated
Bishop of Melitene, in Armenia, at the age of thirty.

-^i

lanuar) lo.] 6^. Agatko. 1 3 7

On the murder of Horraisdas, the Persian King, his son
Chosroes II., succeeded him (592), but the General Varam
having revolted against him, and being deserted by many of
his soldiers, Chosroes fled with his wife, and two newly-bom
children, to Circesium. Thence he sent an embassy to the
Emperor Maurice, desiring peace ; for at that time war was
being waged between the Persians and the Roman em-
perors. At the persuasion of S. Domitian, Maurice ad-
mitted his suit, and treated Chosroes as his guest, instead of
as an exile, welcomed him \vith royal gifts, and placed the
whole of his body-guards, and the entire Roman army, at his
disposal. Moreover, by way of still greater distinction, he
sent Domitian, Bishop of Melitene, to attend him. The
Roman army defeated Varam, and Chosroes was re-
instated on the throne of Persia.

Domitian was liberally recompensed for his share in this
transaction, but he kept nothing for himself. Every gift
made him, he offered to the Church, or to the poor ; restor-
ing churches, and supporting hospitals. He died at
Constantinople, whither he had been summoned by the
Emperor.

S. AGATHO, POPE.

(about 682.)

[His life by Anastasius, the librarian. Commemorated by the Greeks on
Feb. 2 1 St.]

Agatho, a Sicilian by birth, was remarkable for his
charity and gentleness. Having been several years trea-
surer of the Church of Rome, he succeeded Domnus in the
Pontificate, in 679. He was represented by three legates in
the sixth general council, the third of Constantinople, in
680, against the Monothelite heresy, which he confuted in

>^-

138

Lives of the Sai?its.

[January 10.

a learned letter to the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus,
appealing to the constant tradition of the Apostolic Church
of Rome, "acknowledged," says he, "by the whole
Catholic Church to be the mother and mistress of all the
churches, and to derive her superior authority from S. Peter,
the Prince of the Apostles, to whom Christ committed his
whole flock, with a promise that his faith should never fail."
On the 25th day of February, the Council decided
against Macarius, author of the Monothehte heresy, and
solemnly was the episcopal stole (orarium) removed from his
shoulders, and from those of Basil, Bishop of Crete, who
followed his opinion, and their thrones were cast out of the
council hall, in token that they were removed from their
office, and ejected from the communion of the Church.
This Pope restored S. Wilfrid to the see of York, from
which he had been ejected by the Bishops and King of
Northumbria, with the consent of S. Theodore, Archbishop
of Canterbury.

S. SETHRIDA, V., ABSS

(7TH CENT.)

[Anglican Martyrologies, Saussaye. Authority ;— 15ede, Eccles. Hist.,
lib. iii. c. 8.]

Bede says that Sethrida was a daughter of the wife of
Anna, King of the East Angles, and that she served God
in the monastery of Brie, " for at that time, but few monas-
teries being built in the country of the Angles, many were
wont, for the sake of the monastic conversation, to repair
to the monasteries of the Franks or Gauls ; and they also
sent their daughters there to be instructed, and delivered to
their heavenly bridegroom, especially in the monasteries of
Brie, Chelles, and Andelys."

•i<-

_ >J,

January lo.] ^. WUUam. I 39

S. WILLIAM, AB. AND ABP. OF BOURGES.

(a.d. 1209.)

[Gallican Martyrologies. His life, written by a contemporary, was pub-
lished, with the style altered and shortened, by Surius ; the same is re-pub-
lished by the Bollandists, together with a second life, written by another
contemporary, from a MS. at Antwerp. Another hfe by a Canon o(
Bourges, date uncertain, was published by Labbe, Bibl. nova II., p. 379,
386.]

On the death of Henry de Sully, Archbishop of Bourges,
the clergy of that church, unable to agree upon a successor,
requested Eudo, Bishop of Paris, to nominate. For this
purpose, the bishop came to Beauvais, but found it no easy
matter to decide, without causing an eruption of party feel-
ing. In his desire to choose a good man, and one who
would commend himself to all, in consultation with two
friends, he resolved on committing the matter to God.
Accordingly, all the most adAisable names were written on
slips of parchment, and were sealed, and then deposited be-
neath the corporal on the altar. The Bishop celebrated
very early, with great devotion, and earnestly besought God
to indicate him whom he had chosen. When mass was
over, he put his hand beneath the corporal, and drew forth
one of the billets. He broke the seal in the presence of his
two friends, and saw that the name of William, abbot of
Challis, was written on the parchment.

No one else was privy to this appeal. As he left the
church, the clergy whom he had convened to elect cried out
"that they desired William of Challis as their bishop," and
on him the majority of votes fell. Then the bishopric was
offered to William, but he recoiled from accepting it, with
the greatest dismay, for he was a man of retiring habits
and of singular humility. However, on an order coming
to him from the superior of the society, tlie abbot of
Citeaux, and also from the papal legate, he was unable to

140 Lives of ike Saints. January 10. J

refuse ; and he was consecrated in the year 1200. After the
ceremony was over, he laid aside the vestments in which he
had received his ordination, and which were of little value,
in a press, till his dying day.

In his new dignity he omitted nothing of the severity of
his cloister Hfe, disciplining himself more strictly than
before, because his business was calculated to distract his
thoughts, and his high position was dangerous to humility.

He was gentle and loving to penitent sinners; and to-
wards the incorrigible he was stern, but he refused to have
recourse to the civil power against them ; he had a horror
of shedding blood, so that he looked with the utmost repug-
nance upon the violence and warlike customs of his time.
When the crusade against the Albigenses was resolved
upon, William of Beauvais resolved on accompanying the
expedition. Perhaps his earnestness would move the here-
tics to repentance, and his horror of bloodshed might serve
as a check upon the crusaders. The Albigensian heresy,
which was a revival of Paulicianism, ate as a canker into
the Church of France. It was not even a form of Christi-
anity, but was a heathen philosophical sect which had
adopted a few Christian tenets.

The history of the sect was as follows : — Manes, a Persian
heathen, flourished in the middle of the third century, dying
about 277, the founder of a new religion, after having been,
like Simon Magus, a temporary and nominal convert to the
Gospel. He was not an inventor of his religion, but merely
a blender of the earlier Gnostic heresies with the Persian
doctrines of Zoroaster, added to a somewhat larger element
of Christianity than the Gnostics had chosen to accept.
The Paulicians were a sect which took shape about 660, out
of Manichseism, or the religion of Manes. They were
cruelly persecuted by the Byzantine Emperors, during two
whole centuries, and spread to the West by degrees ; one

^ >Jt

January 10.] vS. WilliaVl. I4I

Stream emigrated to Bohemia, where it became the parent
of Hussitism ; the other to the south of France, where it
was called Albigensianism.

The fundamental dogma of this new Manichaeism was
a dualism of good and evil principles or gods, equally
matched. The evil was the origin of the visible creation,
the world and men's bodies ; the good God was the creator
of the invisible world and men's souls. The opposition of
matter and spirit constituted the basis of their moral
systems. These systems were diverse ; some, regarding
everything natural as evil, abstained from meat, from
marriage, and from all employments ; whilst others, regarding
the soul as so distinct from the body as to be incapable of
being soiled by any of its actions, gave themselves up to the
grossest licentiousness.

The moral condition of Provence, where Albigensianism
held sway, was like Sodom and Gomorrah, as may be seen
by the poetry of the troubadours ; so that God's wrath could
not but fall on a land so polluted. The licentiousness
which this creed encouraged, helped to make it spread, and
the Christianity of the whole of the south of France was im-
perilled. At the head of these heretics, the Count of
Toulouse invaded the lands of the King of Aragon, devas-
tated them, robbed the churches, burnt the monasteries,
and ill-treated the clergy, "and slaughtered the Christians
of either sex, and every age, without mercy," says Matthew
Paris. " But this being at length made known, their here-
tical aggression was put down by the faithful Christians,
who, at the command of Pope Gregory, had come as cru-
saders from various parts of the West, for the defence of the
Christian faith."

William of Beauvais was not, however, destined to play a
part in that sanguinary war. He was called to his rest in
January, 1209. Drawing near his end, he received first

*ii-

142

Lives of the Saints.

[January 10.

extreme unction, and then, as the Blessed Sacrament was
brought to him, he struggled up in his bed, and falling on
his knees, with many tears, and hands outspread in the
shape of a cross, he adored the presence of his Saviour.
The night following, he began as usual to recite the Office of
Nocturns, but was unable to pronounce more than the first
two words, and sign himself with the cross. Then he was
laid, at his desire, on ashes, and the vestments in which he
had been consecrated bishop were produced, that he might
be laid dressed in them in his grave. His body was buried
in the Cathedral of Bourges, but was burnt, and the ashes
scattered to the winds, by the Calvinists, on the occasion
of their plundering the Cathedral in 1562.

Patron of Bourges, and of the ancient University of Paris.

In art, he is represented holding a monstrance, or in
adoration before one, to represent his great devotion to-
wards the Blessed Sacrament. He is also represented with
tears on his cheeks, for he is said to have wept whenever
he was told of some scandal of his diocese, or wrong done
to the poor. It may be noted, as a coincidence, that his
festival was the day of Archbishop William Laud's martyr-
dom in 1644.

S. GONSALVO, P. C.
(about 1259.)

[His life was compiled in Portuguese, by Didacus de Rosario, of the
order of Friar Preachers, from scattered notices and confused accounts.]

S. GoNSALVUS or Gonsalvo, was born of noble parents,
at the little village of Vizzella, in the diocese of Braga, in
Portugal. Many little incidents are related of his child-
hood, as how, when an infant at the font, he stretched out
his little hands to the crucifix : how his nurse was wont to

January lo.]

kS. Gonsalvo.

take him with her to church, and watch his Httle eyes fixed
intently upon the figure of Christ crucified, on the rood
screen ; how, when nothing else would still his cries, the
child was taken to church, and there was content looking
at the statues and pictures of the Saints.

When he grew to man's estate, he was ordained priest,
and was appointed rector of the church of S. Payo, near
his father's estates. Here he lived as a father to the poor,
and was regular in tlie fulfilment of his duties as parish
priest. After a while the desire came upon him to visit the
Holy Land, and he left his nephew, a priest, who had been
trained in his house, and in whose principles he had confi-
dence, to take charge of the parish during his absence.
He then started on his pilgrimage, and was absent for four-
teen years. In the meantime, his nephew, relieved of the
constraint of his uncle's presence, abandoned himself to the
indulgence of his ruling passion, a love of field sports. He
filled the parsonage house with dogs and hawks, and spent
his time in hunting and revelry. The poor were forgotten,
and the church was neglected. At length, Gonsalvo not re-
turning, the nephew asked the Bishop to institute him to
the living, pretending that he had received authentic infor-
mation of the death of his uncle.

One day Gonsalvo, ragged, sunburnt, with grizzled locks
and foot-sore, returned to his parsonage ; but the dogs, at
the sight of a mendicant, began to bark furiously, and when
he attempted to pass them, bit hiim and tore his rags, so
that he was compelled to retire. The parish priest hearing
the noise, looked from his window, and seeing a poor man
in tatters defending himself against the dogs, sent a servant
to call them off", and tell the poor man that the owner of the
house objected to beggars.

Gonsalvo, filled with indignation against his nephew for
the manner in which he had betrayed his trust, rushed into

^_ _ *

144 Lives of the SamlS. [January 10.

the house, passed the dogs which the servant restrained, and
appeared in the door of the dining apartment, as the nephew
was seating himself to an abundant and sumptuous meal.

Then the old pilgrim's wrath flamed forth, and he cried,
" Was it for this that thy uncle left his parish and committed
the care of souls into thy hands ? A wolf now guards the
sheep and devours them !"

The nephew, exasperated at the words of reproach, and
angry at the intrusion, caught up a stick, and running upon
the old man, drove him with many blows from the house,
refusing to listen to him, and believe him, when he declared
his name.

Then Gonsalvo, full of grief, retired to a wild spot near
Amarante, where was an old shed, beside the river Tamego.
Amarante was once a small town ; at this time it had fallen
into complete ruin, and was deserted. Here Gonsalvo
erected a little oratory in honour of the Blessed Virgin, and
laboured to instruct the peasantry of the neighbourhood in
Christian doctrine, and to stir up in their hearts the love of
God. But he was not satisfied that he was serving his
Master in the way which He willed. He therefore prayed
most earnestly to be guided aright, and to have the will of
God made clear to him. After long fasting, one day, as he
lay prostrate in supplication before the altar, Our Lady
appeared to him and said, " Rise, Gonsalvo, and enter that
religious order in which thou shalt hear the Angelic Saluta-
tion open and close the offices of prayer."

Then Gonsalvo took his staff and wandered from city to
city, and from monastery to monastery, listening to the
choir offices, but ever being disappointed, for they closed
with Benedicamus Dom'mo^ and not with the Ave Maria.
And when he came to Vinerana, where were four religious
houses, whereof one was Dominican, and another Francis
can, by chance he sought shelter in the former. Then when

January 10.] 6^. GoflSalvO. 1 45

the bells began to chime for vespers, he went to the
church, and heard the friars begin their office with Ave
Maria. With beating heart he waited for the conclusion of
vespers, and heard them close with the Angelic Salutation.
Then he knew that he had found the place of his rest ;
and he asked to be admitted into the order, and was
gladly received. But after awhile he desired to go back
to his poor peasants at Amarante; therefore he asked leave
of the superior, and it was accorded him. So he returned
to his cell and oratory, and there preached to the people
the word of God.

Now it happened that at Amarante there was a ford of the
Tamego, which was much used, as it lay in the direct route
from Braga to Lamego and the south. It was, however,
dangerous, and a great number of lives were lost whilst
Gonsalvo lived at Amarante. He considered much the ne-
cessity there was that a bridge should be built, how many
lives it would be the means of saving, and what a great
convenience it would prove to travellers. He accordingly
resolved on building one, and he went round the country
begging for his bridge. By many his project was regarded
as visionary, and he would himself have despaired of
accomplishing his undertaking, had he not been upheld by
his strong confidence in the goodness of God. This confi-
dence was, moreover, sustained by signs and wonders,
showing him that God approved his undertaking. If we
may believe the life of him, written by De Rosario, on one
occasion he begged of a nobleman, who, as a rude joke.,
and to get rid of the beggar, scribbled a couple of lines on a
scrap of paper, and bade him take it to his wife, who would
give him something. The Saint walked to the nobleman's
castle, and was exhausted with fatigue when he reached it
and presented the note. The lady looked at it, and saw
written therein, " The bearer is a poor fool who wishes
VOL. I. 10

J 4^ Lives of the Saints. uanuary lo.

to build a bridge. Let him have the weight of this paper
in cash." She laughed, and showed the message to
Gonsalvo, telling him that her husband had been making
sport of him. " Be it so," said the priest, " yet give me
the weight of that note in money." She cast the paper into
one scale, and into the other she put silver; then, to her
amazement, the note weighed a large sum of money. Thus
God compensated his servant for his labour, and punished
the nobleman for his bitter jest.

Little by little the money was begged, and at length tlie
poor priest was able to set masons to work, and to erect the
desired bridge over the Tamego.

S. Gonsalvo died, and was buried at Amarante, of which
place he is patron.

(Gonsalvus, in Portuguese, Gongalo, Gonsallo, or Gon-
salvo.)

In art, he is represented with a bridge in his hand.

B. ORINGA, OR CHRISTIANA, V.

(a.d. 1310.)

[Her life, from an ancient MS., in the Convent of S. Clara, at Florence,
was published by Silvanus Razzi. and reprinted in the Acta Sanctorum.]

The Blessed Oringa was born at Sancta Croce, on th _
Amo, in the year 1237, of poor parents, who died whilst
she was young. She kept the cattle on the farm occupied
by her two brothers. The cows were taken by her into the
woods to pasture, and they became so docile that they
obeyed her voice in all things. When she grew to a
marriageable age, her brothers determined that she should
become the wife of a small farmer in the parish; but she ran
away, and escaping across the river, made her way to Lucca.

>^ — *

January .o.] J^. OriUgU. 147

The way was long, and night falUng, the young girl lost the
road, and wandered in a forest. At the same time her
fancy conjured up horrible forms to frighten her. She
would had died of terror, but for the companionship of a
litde hare which played about her skirts, as tamely as if it
had been a favourite kitten, and rested on her lap all night,
when she cast herself down in weariness. Next morning,
the hare gambolled before her, and led her into the road,
after which it ran away. At Lucca she entered the service
of a pious family. As she was annoyed on account of her
beauty, she stained her skin ^vith walnut juice. Having
gone on a pilgrimage to Mount Gargano, on which the arch-
angel Michael had once appeared, for she held the angels in
great reverence ; on her return, some men with whom she
fell in on the road, towards dusk, misled her with evil
purpose; but S. Michael himself flashing out of the dark-
ness at her side, protected her, and led her in the right road.
Later in Ufe she visited Rome, and took service in the house
of a pious widow, named Margaret, who treated her as a
daughter rather than as a domestic. At Rome she was
called Christiana, instead of her baptismal name of Oringa.
She occasionally fell into ecstasies as she prayed, and sa^v
into futurity. "When aged seventy she was struck with para-
lysis, in which she lay three years. As she died, her face is
said to have shone with a celestial light.

i — ii<

148

Lwes of the Saifits.

[ lanuary 11.

January 11.

S. Balthazar, K., me of the Magi, circ. a.d, J4.

S. Hyoinus, Pope, A.D. i;6.

S. Leucius, B. of Brindisi, in Italy.

S, Pal^mon, H., ^th cent.

S. Theodosius, of .-Intinch, circ. a.d. 412.

S. Theodosius the Ccenobiarcm, a.d. 529.

.S. ViTALls, Monk iif Garca, "jth cent.

S. Salvius, B. of Amiens, circ. a.d. 6if;.

.S. EnwiN, B. of H'orcester, circ. a.d. 720.

S. Paulinus, Patr. of Aquileia, a.d. 803. (Sec [an. 28.;

S. BALTHAZAR, K.
(about 54.)

[Cologne Breviary. In some Martyrologies S. Caspar is commemorated
on this day, and S. Balthazar on the 6th Jan. ; but the Cologne use is to
commemorate S. Melchior on the ist, S. Caspar on the 6th, and S. Baltha-
zar on the nth January, as the ist Jan. is the Circumcision, and the 6th
is the Epiphany ; at Cologne this day is kept, with special services, as the
Feast of the Three Kings ; Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar being hereon
commemorated together.]

jN this day S. Balthazar, one of the Magi, King
and Bishop, having received consecration from
the hands of the Aposde S. Thomas, after
celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, fell asleep. Ac-
cording to some authorities, the Three Kings met in the
royal church of the city Sewe, in the East; when the
eldest, Melchior, being one hundred and sixteen years old,
consecrated the venerable mysteries on Jan. ist, the Octave
of the Nativity, and then died. On the feast of the
Epiphany, Caspar, aged one hundred and twelve, did the
same; and on the nth January, Balthazar, aged one
hundred and nine, offered the adorable sacrifice, gave up
the ghost, and was laid in the same sepulchre with the two

->ii

January n.] ^'6'. Hygiuus UHcl PalcEmou. 149

others. See what has been said on the subject of the
Three Kings in the account of the Epiphany.

S. HYGINUS, POPE.

(156.)

Of this Pope, who succeeded S. Telesphorus, little is
kno\vn. Eusebius informs us that he sat four years in the
chair of S. Peter. He brought the church in Rome into
more complete organization than heretofore, taking ad-
vantage of the repose after persecutioa, enjoyed under the
mild Emperor Antoninus Pius. He is said to have been a
Greek, and to have been educated in philosophy. In his
reign the heretics Cerdo and Valentine came to Rome.

S. PAL^MON, H.

(4TH CENT.)

[From the authentic life of S. Pachomius, of whom S. Palasmon was the

master.]

S. Pal^mon was an aged hermit in the deserts of Upper
Egypt, when Pachomius, released from military service, and
desiring to flee the world, came to him and desired to
become his pupil. The old anchorite refused to receive
him, because his manner of life was too severe for a youth.
" I eat nothing but bread and salt," said he ; " I never taste
wine, and I watch half the night." Then, answered Pacho-
mius, " I beUeve in Jesus Christ my Lord, who will give me
strength and patience to assist thee in thy prayers to
follow thy holy conversation."

Then Palaemon, beholding him with his spiritual eye, saw

»j, >if.

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150

Lives of the Saints.

[January u.

that he was a chosen vessel, and admitted him to be his
disciple. So they lived together, serving the Lord in fast-
ing and tears and prayer.

^^^len the feast of Easter came, Pachomius, to honour
the day of the ResuiTection, prepared a dinner of herbs
and oil, and set it before the master. But PalDsmon, press-
ing his brow wdth his hands, exclaimed, " My Lord suffered
on the Cross, and shall I taste oil ?" So he refused it, and
contented himself with bread and salt.

One evening, a solitary came into their cell, and asked to
join them in prayer ] then, filled with a spirit of presump-
tion, he said, " If we are the true servants of God, let us
say our prayers standing on live coals."

But Palaemon was wroth, and rebuked him for his pride.

However, the monk persisted, and by Satan's craft, he
stood unhurt on the red-hot cinders. Then he retired to his
owTi cell, puffed up with self-confidence. But pride goes
before a fall, and shortly after he fell into fleshly lust ; then,
filled with shame, lie crept back to the cave of Palaimon,
and falling at his feet, with bitter tears, confessed his sin.

Wlien S. Pachomius was inspired to found a monas t€'ry at
Tabenna, he announced his intention to S. Palsemon. The
old man accompanied his pupil, and took up his atiode at
Tabenna, for he loved Pachomius as his own son, and he
could not bear to be separated from him. Therefore he
said, " Let us make a compact together, that we part not,
the one from the other, till God break our union." And to
this Pachomius gladly agreed. So they lived much to-
gether, till the old man died, and then his disciple buried
him at Tabenna.

»J( ^

January ii.J 6". TkeodoSlUS. 1 5 1

S. THEODOSIUS, THE CCENOBIARCH, H.

(a.d. 529.)

[Greek Mensea and Roman Martyrology. The life of S. Theodosius,
wTitten by a contemporary anonymous author, supposed by Baronius, but
without sufficient grounds, to be Cyril, the author of the lives of SS.
Euthemius, Saba, and John the Silent. But Cave says that the hfe of S.
Theodosius was written by Theodore, Bishop of Pera.]

Theodosius was born in the little town of Marissa, in
Cappadocia, in 423. He was ordained reader, but some
time after, being moved by Abraham's example, to quit his
country and friends, he resolved to visit the holy places.
He accordingly set out for Jerusalem, and visited the famous
S. Simeon Stylites, near Antioch, on his way. S. Simeon
accosted him by name, and bade him ascend his pillar,
when he embraced him, and foretold several circumstances
of his life, giving him advice how to act under them.
Having satisfied his devotion in visiting the holy places in
Jerusalem, he betook himself to the cell of Longinus, a holy
man, who dwelt near the tower of David, and to him he
became dear, on account of his singular virtue. A lady,
named Icelia, having built a church to the honour of the
Virgin Mother of God, on the high road to Bethlehem,
Longinus appointed his disciple, Theodosius, to the charge
of this church. But he did not retain this charge long;
loving solitude, he retired to the mountains, and took up
his abode in the cave, where the Wise Men were traditionally
held to have reposed on their way to Bethlehem. Here he
passed his time in labouring with his hands, in fasting, and
in prayer. His food was coarse pulse and herbs ; for thirty
years he did not taste bread. Many desired to serve God
under his direction : he at first determined to admit six or
seven, but was soon obliged to receive a greater number,
and at length came to a resolution never to reject any that
presented themselves with dispositions that seemed sincere.

^ — -^

152 Lives of the Saints. [Januarys,

The first lesson he taught his monks was, that the continual
remembrance of death is the foundation of religious perfec-
tion. To impress the thought of death more deeply on their
minds, he caused a great sepulchre to be constructed as the
common burjing place of his monks. \Vlien it was complete,
half seriously and half in jest, he said : " The tomb is
finished, which of you will be its first inmate ?" Then one,
Basil, a priest, knelt at his feet, and asked to be the first to
celebrate the dedication of the sepulchre. Therefore S.
Theodosius ordered all the offices of the dead to be recited
for Basil, first for three days, then for nine, and then for
forty ; and at the close of the forty days he died without
sickness or pain, as though going to sleep. And for forty
days after his death he was seen by the abbot Theodosius
in his place among the brethren, chanting the praises of
God. None others saw him, but one Aetius heard his
voice. Then the abbot, hearing Aetius confess this, prayed
to God to open his eyes, and seeing the dead monk again in
choir, he pointed him out ; and then Aetius saw him, and
ran, and would have embraced him, but he vanished out of
his sight.

Once, as Easter approached, there was a deficiency of
food in the monastery, and they had not even bread for the
Holy Sacrifice. This troubled them sore, for they feared
that the holy feast would come, and pass, without their being
able to celebrate the divine liturgy. Therefore they prayed
with one accord to God, and behold ! mules laden with
provisions arrived at the monastery, and amongst the pro-
visions was bread for the sacrifice.

The lustre of the sanctity of S. Theodosius drawing great
numbers to him, who desired to serve God under his
direction, he resolved on building a large monaster}' to
receive them all ; but where to build it he knew not.
After some consideration, he took a censer, and put char-

* ■ ^

January II.] ^. TkeodoStUS. I 53

coal and incense thereon, but no fire, and he prayed : " O
God who didst of old, by many and great miracles, confirm
Israel ; who didst to thy servant Moses persuade by many
and various marvels, to take on him the burden of ruling
that people ; who didst turn the water of Egypt into blood,
and then re-convert it again ; who didst give to Gideon an
earnest of his victory in the fleece and the dew ; who didst
assure Hezekiah of an addition to his days, by the return of
the shadow on the dial ; who didst at the cry of Elias send
fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice. Thou art the
same Lord, unto whom this day I plead ! Hear thou the
prayers of the servant, and show me where 1 shall build a
temple to Thy honour, and a habitation for thy servants
and my disciples. Show, O Lord ! by the kindling of these
coals, where the place shall be, to Thy glory, and to the
acknowledgment of many, and the confirmation of the
truth." Having uttered this prayer, he walked through the
land with the censer in his hand. And when he came, after
much wandering, to a desert spot called Gutilla, on the shores
of the Dead Sea, he turned and came home, and as he neared
his cave the coals kindled, and the smoke of the incense rose
towards heaven, as a sign that thence should ascend the
prayers of the faithful from age to age, in the daily sacrifice.
There accordingly he erected his monastery, and it was soon
filled with holy monks. To this monastery were annexed
several infirmaries ; one for the sick monks, two for sick
lay folk ; one for the aged and feeble monks, and one for
persons deranged. All succours, spiritual and temporal,
were afforded in these hospitals, which were kept in admir-
able order, and were attended by the monks with alacrity
and care. S. Theodosius erected also several buildings for
the reception of strangers, in which he exercised an un-
bounded hospitality, entertaining all that came, for whose
use there were, on one occasion, above a hundred tables

^ ■^

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154

Lives of the Saints.

[January 11.

served with provisions. The monastery itself was Uke a
city of saints in the midst of a desert; and in it reigned
regularity, silence, charity, and peace. There were four
churches belonging to it, one for each of the three nations
of which his community was composed, each speaking a
different language, and the fourth church was for the use of
the recovering lunatics. The nations into which his com-
munity was divided were the Greeks, and all those using the
liturgy in the Greek tongue ; the second church was used by
those having divine worship in the Annenian language ; and
in the third church the holy praises of God were sung, and
the sacrifice was offered in the language of the Bessi, that
is, of the wandering nations of Arab race. " Thus by
them," says the contemporary writer ; " the rule of hymnody
was carried out, and seven times a day was it offered to the
God of all. But when it behoved them to participate in the
venerable Sacrament, the law was very beautifully consti-
tuted among them, that till after the Gospel, divinely in-
spired, each should hear in his own church and language
the divine voice; but after that they were assembled into
one — the possessed alone excepted — namely, into the large
church of the Greeks, as is done to this day, and there they
participate together of the sanctifying gifts."

At times not set apart for public prayer and necessary
rest, every monk was obliged to apply himself to some
trade or manual labour. Sallust, patriarch of Jemsalem,
appointed S. Sabas superior of all the hermits in Palestine,
and S. Theodosius head of all the monks living in com-
munity, for which reason he obtained the title of Coeno-
biarch.

These two great servants of God lived in close friendship,
and together strove against the heresy of Eutyches, which
then devastated the Church. For the Emperor Anastasius
favoured the Eutychians ; he banished the patriarch of

January 1 1.] ^, TkcodosiuS. I 5 5

Antioch and the patriarch of Jerusalem, and introduced an
heretical bishop, Severus, into the latter see, commanding the
Syrians to obey and hold communion with him. Then these
great ascetic saints, with those bodies of religious men
whom they ruled, proved bulwarks of the faith, uncompro-
mising defenders of the truth. Like rocks in the desert,
they remained unchanged and immovable. In vain did the
emperor employ persuasion, attempt bribery, and finally
exile the Coenobiarch; he could not be moved, but journeyed
through the land from which the bishops had been expelled,
confirming the faithful, and denouncing the established
heresy. At Jerusalem, having assembled the people to-
gether, he from the pulpit cried with a loud voice, " If any
man receives not the four General Councils as the four
Gospels, let him be anathema !" Such boldness in an old
man, venerated for his sanctity, inspired with courage those
whom the edicts had frightened. His discourses produced
a wonderful effect on the people, and God gave a sanction to
his zeal by miracles. The Emperor sent an order for his
banishment, which was executed ; but dying soon after,
Theodosius was re-called by his successor Justin, who was
a Catholic.

Our Saint survived his return eleven years. So great was
his humility, that, seing two monks at variance with each
other, he threw himself at their feet, and would not rise till
they were reconciled. Once, having excommunicated one
of his monks for some oft'ence, the man defiantly excom-
municated Theodosius, and he meekly accepted the sen-
tence, and acted as one cut off from the society of the faith-
ful and participation in the Sacraments, till the guilty monk,
confounded and repentant, removed the ban. During the
last year of his life he was afflicted with a painful disease,
which reduced him to a shadow. It was noticed by those
who nursed him, that, even in his sleep, his lips murmured

156

Lives of the Saints.

[January 11.

the familiar words of prayer. Perceiving the hour of his
dissolution draw nigh, he gave his last exhortations to his
disciples, and foretold many things which came to pass after
his death; and then fell asleep in Christ, on the nth Jan.,
529. Peter, patriarch of Jerusalem, and the whole country,
assisted at his interment He was buried in the first cell,
the cave of the Magi.

S. VITALIS, MONK.

(beginning of 7TH CEIVT.)

[Greek Menaea. His history occurs as an episode in the life of S. John
the Ahiisgiver, patriarch of Alexandria, by Leontius, Bishop of Naplous in
Cyprus, from the relation of the Acts of S. John, by his clergy. This life
was commended in the seventh General Council, and is perfectly authentic]

The story of Vitalis, or Vitali, monk of Gaza, is brought
in by the Bishop of Naplous, in his life of S. John the
Almsgiver, almost accidentally, to illustrate the long suffer-
ing and charity of S. John, that thinketh not evil. But
I know not, in all the glorious histories of the blessed ones,
one story so deeply touching as that of the little known,
and soon forgotten, monk of Gaza.

Where he was born we know not ; of what parents he
was born we are ignorant ; but we do know that his was a
heart full, to overflowing, with the divine charity of Him who
came to seek and to save those that were lost.

Whilst John the Almsgiver was patriarch of Alexandria,
there arrived in that city, an old man of sixty, or there-
abouts, in monk's garb. In his cell he had thought over
the crimes of that pleasure-loving city, and having read in
the Gospel the story of the woman taken in adultery, in
the old monk's heart kindled a sudden fire of zeal, which
drove him to Alexandria, that he might save some of those

-*b

— f^

January n.] 6". VltciUs. I 57

poor women who sold themselves. Arrived in the city, he
obtained the names of all the harlots, and then hired him-
self as a day labourer. Every evening he took his wage,
and with it went to one of the unfortunate women, and
supped with her, and gave her the rest, and said, " I pay
thee this, that thou mayest spend one night without sin."
Then he retired into a corner of the room, where she slept,
and passed the night in reciting psalms, and praying with
many tears for the woman present ; and he rejoiced that,
by his toil of the day, he had saved her from evil on that
one night.

And thus he visited all the harlots in Alexandria, and
from each, as he went forth in the morning, he took a
solemn promise that she would reveal to none what had
taken place, so long as he was alive.

Now, considerable scandal arose, and Vitalis was loudly
condemned. One said to him, " Monk, take to thyself a
wife, and lay aside thy religious garb, that the name of God
be not blasphemed through thee." But Vitalis answered,
" I -vvill not take to myself a wife, nor will I change ro.y
habit. He that will be scandalized, let him be scandalized.
What hast thou to do with me ? Hath God constituted you
to be my judges ? Go to, look to yourselves, ye have not
to answer for me. There is one Judge and one holy day of
judgment, wherein every man shall give an account of his
o^vn works."

One of the Defenders of the Church (this was the name
of an officer who saw to the order and morals of the clergy
and monks,) came to the patriarch John, and told him what
he had heard of the abbot Vitalis. But the patriarch
closed his ears, and rebuked the accuser, saying, " Remem-
ber what were the words of Constantine of pious memory ;
he said that the crimes of priests ought not to be divulged,
and that if he detected a priest or a monk in wTong-doing,

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158

Lives of the Saints.

[January 11.

he would draw his purple imperial robe over him, so that
none might be scandalized. And when quarrelsome indi-
viduals wrote accusations against certain prelates, he formed
them into a packet, and cast them into the fire."^

But Vitalis, though he bore without a murmur the shame,
the hard speeches, and false accusations that fell to his
share, was deeply sensitive for the souls of others, lest
through him they should be wounded. Yet he could not
relinquish his mission ; — the love of God constrained him
thereto, and many a poor woman, mov^ed by the tears and
prayers of the holy man, deserted ht^r evil courses, and
married and settled into ways of steadiness ; and many, filled
with bitter compunction, fled from that city of temptation,
to expiate their offences in the desert. Seeing how great a
blessing attended his work, Vitalis persevered in spite of
obloquy; but he prayed to God to reveal the truth after his
death, that the reproach might be wiped off the monastic
garb he wore ; but he would not suffer the truth to be
known whilst he Uved, or the houses of ill-fame would be
closed against him, and the prosecution of his mission
would be hindered.

One morning, very early, as he left a harlot's door,
a man came in, and seeing a monk issue forth, he struck
him over the head, exclaiming, " How long, rascal, do you
outrage Christ by not mending your wicked ways ?"

Then said Vitalis, " Believe me, friend, thou shall
receive from me, a humble monk, such a stroke that all
Alexandria shall ring with it." So saying, he went his way
to the little chamber where he lodged, by the church of
S. Metras, near the Gate of the Sun.

What followed is not very clear. But if we put aside
some absurd fable which has attached itself to the story,

' Theodoret, lib. i. c. 11.

^_ *

January II.] S. VitaltS, I 59

we shall find that it was something like this : — Probably
from the unfortunate woman, from whom Vitalis had gone
forth, and to whom the man who had smitten him entered,
that man heard the truth ; then, full of contrition, he rushed
forth and proclaimed abroad how he had wronged Vitalis,
and how mistaken was the popular opinion concerning him.
So a crowd collected, and rolled in the direction of the cell
of Vitalis, by the Gate of the Sun. The man foremost of
all cried, " Pardon me my violence, Vitalis, thou man of
God !" And so the mob broke into the little hovel where
he dwelt. Then they saw the despised monk kneeling
upright, with his hands clasped, dead and rigid ; and before
him lay a sheet of paper, whereon were written the words of
the Apostle, i Cor. iv. 5, " Judge nothing before the time,
until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden
things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of
the heart."

Then, when this was noised abroad, almost the whole city
came together, and the patriarch John arrived, and all the
clergy, and they took up the body of Vitalis. Thereupon,
all those women who had been converted by him, and were
married, came forth, bearing lamps and candles, and went
before him, beating their breasts and crying, " We have lost
our deliverer and instructor !" And they told how, by his
urgent prayers and burning zeal for their souls, he had
rescued them from a life of misery. But he who had
smitten the old monk his death-blow, struck with compunc-
tion, renounced his vicious ways, and entered the monastery
at Gaza, and lived and died in the cell once occupied by
Vitalis. Thus did Vitalis deal him such a blow that all
Alexandria rang with it.

-►i<

^ _ ^

1 60 Lives 0/ the Saints. [.lanuanu.

S. SALVIUS, OF AMIENS, B. C.
(about 615.)

[Roman Martyrology. There are three bishops, Saints, of this name,
one Bishop of Albi, one Bishop of AngoulSme, and this one, Bishop of
Amiens ; tliey are often confounded by writers. ]

S. Salvius lived as a monk for many years, in what
monastery is not knoAvn. He was afterwards elected
abbot. Being chosen Bishop of Amiens, he ruled the
diocese with prudence, but little or nothing is known of his
acts. As he died in an ecstasy, a brilliant light is said to
have illuminated his cell, and praying with extended arms,
he surrendered his soul.

S. EGWIN, OF WORCESTER, B. C.
(about 720.)

[The life of S. Egvvin was written by his contemporary, S. Britl wald,
Archbishop of Canterbury. This original has not descended to lis, but a
fragment of a somewhat later recension of this life exists ; and a still
later life, probably an amplification of that by Brithwald. Moreover, S.
Egwiu is mentioned by Matthew of Westminster, Florence of Worcester ;
William of Malmesbury also speaks of him in his Acts of the English
Bishops.]

S. Egwin was of the royal blood of the Mercian kings,
and was born at Worcester, in the reign of Ethelred and
Kenred. He was elected Bishop in 692. By his zeal in
rebuking the illicit connexions formed by some of the great
men in his diocese, and vehemence in reforming the cor-
rupt morals of all, he stirred up a party against him, and
with the connivance of the King, he was expelled his
diocese. Egwin, meekly bending to his fate, determined to
make a pilgrimage to Rome. According to a popular
mediaeval legend, he also resolved to expiate at the same

S. KCiWIX, BISHOP OF WORCKSTI':i-
After Cahier.

Jan. , p. i6o. ]

[Jan. II.

*•

Jani.ao'ii.] S. EgWVil. l6l

time certain sins of his youth, by putting iron fetters on his
feet, which were fastened with a lock, and he cast tlie key
into the Avon. As he neared Italy, on a ship from Mar-
seilles, a huge fish floundered upon deck, and was killed and
cut open ; when, to the surprise of the Saint, in its belly was
found the key to his fetters. He accepted this as an ex-
pression of the will of heaven, and released his limbs.
According to another version of the story, the fish was
caught in the Tiber, after S. Egwan had appeared before the
Pope in Rome ; but William of Malmesbury doubts the
whole story as an idle legend.

After his return, with the assistance of Kenred, King of
Mercia, S. EgA\in founded the famous abbey of Evesham,
under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin. After this he
undertook a second journey to Rome, in company with
Kenred, and Offa, King of the East Saxons. S. Egwin died
on the 30th December, 717, and was buried in the monastery-
of Evesham. The translation of his relics probably took
place on Jan. nth, on which day many English Martyr-
ologies mark his festival.

voT.. I. ri

,j, — ►J'

^ ^

[62 Lives of the Saints. [ian»ary,..

January 12.

S. AuCADiUS, M., in Africa, circ. a.d. 260.

SS. Satyrus, Cyriacus, Mosentius, MM.

SS. Tigris, P., and EutrOpius, MM., a.d. 404.

S. John, B. C. of Ra-venna, circ. a.d. 493.

S. C.ESARiA, r., at Aries, circ. a.d. 550.

S. ViCTORiNUS, Ah., in Spain, a.d. 560.

S. Benedict Biscop, in England, a.d. 703.

SS. Xxxviii, Monks, MM., in Ionia, circ. a.d. 750.

S. Aelred, Ab. of Rie-uaulx, in Torkshire, a.d. 1 166

S. ARCADIUS, M.
(about a.d. 260.)

[Roman Martyrology, those of Bede, Ado, Usuardus, Notlcer, &c.
Authority, a panegyric by S. Zeno, Bishop of Verona, his contemporary.]

TURING a severe outbreak of persecution, in

the reign of Gallienus, in the north of Africa,

Arcadius, doubting his own constancy, sought

refuge in flight, and escaping from Csesarea, hid

himself. As he did not appear at the sacrifices, the Governor

ordered his house to be searched. It was found to be

deserted, save by a relative of his, whom the soldiers seized,

and, at the command of the Governor, detained till Arcadius

should surrender himself.

Hearing of this capture, and unwilling that his kinsman
should suffer, Arcadius deserted his hiding place, and gave
himself up. The Governor, exasperated at his constancy in
refusing to adore the gods of the state religion, ordered him
to be dismembered, piecemeal and leisurely. First his
fingers were taken off, joint by joint ; then his toes, then his
hands at the wnrists, and his feet at the ankles. As he ex-
tended his hands to amputation, he prayed, " Thy hands
have made me and fashioned me ; O give me understanding

^ »i<

Januarys.] ^'^. Ttgrzs ajicl Ezitropms. 1 6;

that I may keep thy law." Thereupon the judge ordered his
tongue to be cut out. He was cast on his back, and his
feet were taken off. Then his legs and arms were amputated
at the knees and elbows, finally at the thighs and shoulders,
so that he was nothing save a human trunk in a pool of
blood, with his limbs in little fragments scattered about him.
Thus he expired ; but the Christians collected the portions
of his body, and buried them Avith the trunk reverently,
glorifying God for having given such constancy to his martyr.
In art, represented as a torso ; sometimes, for some
reason unknown, with a candle in his hand.

SS. SATYRUS, CYRIACUS, MOSENTIUS, MM.
(date uncertain.)

[All Martyrologies. Nothing is known for certain of the date of their
martyrdoms, or whether they all suffered together.]

S. Satyrus is said to have signed the cross, and breathed
on an idol in the street of Achaia (on the Euxine?), and it
fell. Wherefore he was executed by decapitation. This is
stated in all the Martyrologies, but some say the act was
done at Antioch. Of the others, his companions, nothing
is known.

SS. TIGRIS, P., AND EUTROPIUS, LECTOR, MM.

(a.d. 404.)

[Roman Martyrology and German Martyrologies. Not commemorated
by the Greeks. Authorities: Sozomen, hb. viii. c. 22, 23; Nicei>horus
Callistus, Hb. xiii. ; S. John Chrysostom also, in his 12th letter to S. Olym-
pias, speaks of Tigris the priest.]

When S. John Chrysostom had incurred the anger of the
Empress Eudoxia, by declaiming against her silver statue set

* >J<

164 Lives of the Saints. [January 12.

up close to the church of the Eternal Wisdom at Constan-
tinople, by her machinations he was deposed and exiled
from the city, and Arsacius was ordained patriarch of Con-
stantinople in his room. But a large company of bishops
and priests, and others of the clerical order, refused to recog-
nize the right of Arsacius, and being driven from the
churches, held their divine worship in places apart. For
the space of two months after his deposition, Chrysostom
remained at his post, though he refrained from appearing in
public ; after that he was obliged to leave, being banished
by the Emperor Arcadius. On the very day of his depar-
ture the church caught fire, and a strong easterly wind
carried the flames to the senate house.^ The party opposed
to S. John Chrysostom immediately spread the report that
this fire was the result of a wilful act of incendiarism by the
Johannites, or party of the exiled bishop. Socrates, the
historian, strongly prejudiced against Chrysostom, distinctly
charged them with the act. He says, " On the very day of his
departure, some of John's friends set fire to the church,"
and then he adds, " The severities inflicted on John's friends,
even to the extent of capital punishment, on account of
this act of incendiarism, by Optatus, the prefect of Con-
stantinople, who being a pagan was, as such, an enemy
to the Christians, I ought, I believe, to pass by in silence."
There can be no doubt that the fire was purely accidental,
and that it was used as a means of endeavouring to excite
the people of Constantinople against their favourite Chry-
sostom, that bold champion of the truth against spiritual
wickedness in high places, and the Erastianism of a
large party of bishops and clergy, just as before
Nero had charged the burning of old Rome on the
Christians.

On this false charge some of the most faithful and zealous

1 Socrates, Eccl. Hist., lib. vi. c. i8.

-►^

Januarys.] S. Tigvls auci Eutroplus. 165

adherents of Chrysostom suffered, amongst them were tlie
priest Tigris, and the reader Eutropius. The rest shall be
quoted from Sozomen, who, belonging to the party of Chry-
sostom, gives those details which Socrates found it convenient
to omit : — " Both parties mutually accused each other of
incendiarism; the enemies of John asserted that his partizans
had been guilty of the deed from revenge ; the other side,
that the crime had been perpetrated by their enemies, with
intention of burning them in the church. Those citizens who
were suspected of attachment to John, were sought out and
cast into prison, and compelled to anathematize him. Arsacius
was not long after ordained over the Church of Constan-
tinople. Nothing operated so much against him as the per-
secution carried on against the followers of John. As these
latter refused to hold communion, or even to join in prayer
with him, and met together in the further parts of the
city, he complained to the Emperor of their conduct. The
tribune was commanded to attack them with a body of
soldiers, and by means of clubs and stones he soon dispersed
their assembly. The most distinguished among them in
point of rank, and those who were most zealous in their
adherence to John, were cast into prison. The soldiers,
as is usual on such occasions, went beyond their orders,
and stripped the women of their ornaments. Although
the whole city was thus filled with trouble and lamenta-
tion, the affection of the people for John remained the
same. After the popular insurrection had been quelled,
the prefect of the city appeared in public, as if to inquire
into the cause of the conflagration, and to bring the perpe-
trators of the deed to punishment ; but, being a pagan, he
exulted in the destruction of the Church, and ridiculed the
calamity.

" Euti'opius, a reader, was required to name the persons
who had set fire to the church; but, although he was

1 66

Lives of the Saints.

[January 12.

scourged severely, although his sides and cheeks were torn
with iron nails, and although lighted torches were applied to
the most sensitive parts of his body, no confession could be
extorted from him, notwithstanding his youth and delicacy
of constitution, After having been subjected to these
tortures, he was cast into a dungeon, where he soon after-
wards expired.

" A dream of Sisinius concerning Eutropius seems worthy
of insertion in this history. Sisinius, the Bishop of the
Novatians, saw in his sleep a man, tall in stature, and hand-
some in person, standing near the altar in the Novatian
Church of S. Stephen. This man complained of the rarity
of goodness among men, and said that he had been search-
ing throughout the city, and found but one who was good,
and that one was Eutropius. Astonished at what he had
seen, Sisinius made known the dream to the most faithful of
his priests, and commanded him to make search for Eutro-
pius, wherever he might be. The priest, righriy conjecturing
that this Eutropius could be no other than he who had been
so barbarously tortured by the prefect, went from prison to
prison in quest of him. At length he found him, and made
known to him the dream of the Bishop, and besought him
with tears to pray for him. Such are the details we possess
concerning Eutropius.

"Tigiis, a priest, was about the same time stripped of his
clothes, scourged on the back, bound hand and foot, and
stretched on the rack. He was a foreigner, and an eunuch,
but not by birth. He was originally a slave in the house of
a man of rank, and on account of his faithful services had
obtained his freedom. He was afterwards ordained priest,
and was distinguished by his moderation and meekness of
disposition, and by his charity towards strangers and the
poor. Such were the events which took place in Constan-
tinople. Those who were in power at court procured a law

►I<-

januaryi2.] S. Bcuedict Blscop. iG"]

in favour of Arsacius, by which it was enacted that the
orthodox were to assemble together in churches only, and
that if they seceded from communion with the above-
mentioned Bishop, they were to be exiled."

S. C^SARIA, V.

(about a.d. 530.)

[Gallican Martyrologies. Her history from the life of S. Csesarius of
Aries, her brother, by his disciple, Cyprian.]

S. C^SARIA was the superior of a convent of religious
women, erected by her brother, S. Caesarius, at Aries.
When, in 507, the Franks and Burgundians, under Alaric,
had been defeated by Clovis, Theodoric invaded the south
of Gaul from Italy, and besieged the city, and battered
down the convent which had been erected for S. Caesaria.
When tranquillity was re-established, Csesarius re-built the
monastery, and called his sister from Marseilles to inhabit it.
The rule of S. Caesaria, drawn up by her brother, exists,
and is published by the Bollandists.

S. BENEDICT BISCOP.
(a.d. 703.)

[Roman, Benedictine, and Anglican Martyrologies. Life from William
of Malmesbury, Bede's Homilies and Ecclesiastical History, Florence of
Worcester, Matthew of Westminster. The following account is con-
densed from the life of S. Benedict Biscop, in Montalembert's Monks
of the West, Bk. xiii., c. 2.]

Benedict was born of the highest Anglo-Saxon nobility,
in the year 628. While he was still very young, he held an
office in the household of King Oswy. At twenty-five he
gave up secular life, marriage, and his family, restored his

^^-

i68

Lives of the Saints,

[January 12,

lands to the king, and dedicated himself to the service of
God. Before he settled in any community he went to
Rome, whither he had been long attracted by that desire of
praying at the tomb of the Aposties, which became so
general among the Anglo-Saxons. He started in company
witli S. Wilfrid, but the two young Northumbrian nobles
separated at Lyons. After his first visit to Rome, Benedict
returned thither a second and a third time, having in the
meantime assumed the monastic habit in the island of
Lerins. Pope Vitalianus, struck with the piety and know-
ledge of so constant and zealous a pilgrim, assigned to him,
as guide and interpreter, that Greek, Theodore, who be-
came Archbishop of Canterbury, and who, when he went
to England, transferred the monk of Lerins to be abbot of
the principal monastery in Canterbury,

After thus spending two years with the new Archbishop,
the abbot Benedict, instead of re-visiting his native district,
went for the fourth time to Rome, 671. He was then in
the prime of life ; but when it is considered what were the
difficulties and dangers of such a journey — at such a time —
when we remember that a journey from London to Rome
then took twice as long, and was a hundred times more
dangerous than a journey from London to Australia is now,
we are amazed at the energy which induced so many
Anglo-Saxon monks, not once only, but many times in their
life, to cross the sea and the Alps on their way to Rome.
His fourth expedition was undertaken in the interests
of literature. He brought back a cargo of books, partly
sold, partly given to him ; and, in passing by Vienne, the
ancient capital of the Gauls, on his return, he brought with
him many more which he had deposited there in the charge
of his friends. When he returned at length to his native
Northumbria, he sought King Egfrid, the son of his former
master, Oswy, then the reigning monarch, and told him all

JlvUl'Jl \> ■

S. HKNEDICT BISCOP.

Jan., p. 168/

[Jan. 12.

January 12.1 6". BeftecUct Blscop. 169

he had done during the twenty years that had passed since
he left his country and the royal service. Then, endeavour-
ing to communicate to him the religious ardour with which
his own heart was filled, he explained to the King all he had
learned at Rome and elsewhere, of ecclesiastical and mon-
astic discipline, showing him the books and relics which he
had brought back. Egfrid, who had not yet begun his
struggle with Wilfrid, allowed himself to be won by the
stories of the pilgrim, for whom he conceived a great affec-
tion ; and in order that he might apply his experience to the
government of a new community, he detached from his own
possessions, and presented to Benedict, an estate situated at
the mouth of the Wear, a little stream which flows through
Durham, and throws itself into the Northern sea, a little
south of the Tjaie.^ This gave the name of Wearmouth
to the new monastery, which was dedicated to S. Peter,
the Prince of the Apostles, according to the express wish of
Egfrid, in agreement with that of Benedict, as an evidence
of his leanings towards Rome.

This foundation was no sooner assured, than the un-
wearied Benedict took ship again, to seek in France masons
to build him a stone church, in the Roman style, for every-
tliing that came from Rome was dear to him. The church
was carried on with so much energy, that, a year after the
first stone was laid, the church was roofed in, and mass was
celebrated under one of those stone arches which excited the
surprise of the English in the seventh century. He-brought
glass-makers also from France, for there were none m
England ; and these foreign workmen, after having put glass
into the windows of the church and new monastery, taught
their art to the Anglo-Saxons. Animated by a zeal which
nothing could discourage, and inspired by intelligent patriot-
ism, and a sort of passion for beauty in art, which shrank

1 Monk-Wearmouth on the north bank of the river.

-^^

170

Lives of the Saints.

[January 12.

neither from fatigue nor care, he sent to seek beyond the
seas all that he could not find in England — all that seemed
necessary to him for the ornamentation of his church; and not
finding even in France all he wanted, he went for the fifth
time to Rome. Even this was not his last visit, for some
years later he made a sixth pilgrimage. On both occasions
he brought treasures back with him, chiefly books in count-
less quantities, and of every kind. He was a passionate
collector, as has been seen, from his youth. He desired
each of his monasteries to possess a great library, which
he considered indispensable to the instruction, discipline,
and good organization of the community ; and reckoned
upon the books as the best means of retaining his monks
in their cloisters ; for much as he loved travelling himself,
he did not approve of other monks passing their time
on the highways and byways, even under pretext of pil-
grimages.

Along with the books he brought a great number of
pictures and coloured images. By introducing these images
from Rome to Northumberland, Benedict Biscop has wTitten
one of the most curious, and, at the same time, forgotten
pages in the history of art. The Venerable Bede, who
speaks with enthusiasm of the expeditions of his master
and friend, leads us to suppose that he brought back with
him only portable pictures, but it may be supposed that the
abbot of Wearmouth brought back with him both painters
and mosaic-workers, to work on the spot at the decoration
of his churches. How can it be otherwise explained, how
pictures on wood, brought even by water from Rome to
England, should have been large enough to cover the walls
and arches of the two or three churches of which Bede
speaks. However this may be, the result was that the
most ignorant of the Christians of Northumbria found, on
entering these new monastic churches, under a material

januar) 12.] 61 Benedict Biscop. lyi

form, the attractive image of the instructions which the
monastic missionaries lavished on them. Learned and im-
leamed could contemplate and study with delight, we are
told, here the sweet and attractive form of the new-born
Saviour, there the Twelve Apostles surrounding the Blessed
Virgin ; upon the northern wall all the parables of the
Gospels ; upon the southern, the visions of the Apocalypse ;
elsewhere, a series of pictures which marked the harmony
between the Old and New Testaments ; Isaac carrying the
wood for his sacrifice opposite to Jesus bearing His Cross;
the brazen serpent opposite Jesus crucified, and so on.^
All these Bede, who had seen them, describes with great
delight.

After Latin and Greek books, after art, it was the turn of
music. On his return from his fifth voyage, Benedict
brought back with him from Rome an eminent monk, called
John, precentor of S. Peter's, to establish at Wearmouth the
music and Roman ceremonies with entire exactitude. As
soon as he had arrived at Wearmouth, this learned abbot
set out in writing the order of the celebration of all feasts
for all the year, of which he soon circulated numerous
copies. Then he opened classes, at which he taught, vwa
voce, the liturgy and ecclesiastical chants. The best singers
of the Northumbrian monasteries came to listen to him,
and invited him to visit their communities.

The passionate zeal of Benedict for the building and
decoration of his monastic houses, did not make him forget
the more essential interests of his foundations. Before
leaving Rome he took care to constitute his community
upon the immovable basis of the rule of S. Benedict. He
obtained from Pope Agatho a charter which guaranteed
the liberty and security of the new monastery of Wear-
mouth. In order to give Benedict a new mark of sympathy,

1 Bede : \'itae Abbt, in Wiramuth, c. 6.

»Jf _,J,

172 Lives of the Saints. January i^.

King Egfrid assigned to him another estate, near to the
first. This was the cradle of the monastery of Jarrow, the
name of which is inseparably linked with that of Bede.
This monastery he dedicated to S. Paul, and appointed one
of his most intimate friends and fellow pilgrims, Ceolfrid,
abbot of the new foundation.

In order to be more at liberty to devote his time to
travel, Benedict took a coadjutor in the government of
Weannouth. This new abbot was his nephew, Eastenvin,
his junior by twenty-two years, and like Biscop, of high
birth. The noble youth took pride in following minutely
the rule of the house, like any other monk. Thanks to his
illustrious biogi-apher, we know what the occupations of a
Saxon thane turned monk were in the seventli century.
His duties were to thrash and winnow the corn, to milk the
goats and cows, to take his turn in the kitchen, the bake-
house, and the garden, always humble and joyous in his
obedience. When he became coadjutor, and was invested,
in Biscop's absence, uath all his authority, the young abbot
continued the course of communal life ; and when his duties
as superior led him out of doors to where the monks laboured
in the fields, he set to work along with them, taking the
plough or the fan in his own hands, or forging iron upon the
anvil. He was robust as well as young and handsome ; but
his look was infinitely gentle, and his conversation full of
amiability. Wlien he was compelled to reprove a fault, it
was done with such tender sadness that the culprit felt him-
self incapable of any new offence which should bring a
cloud over the benign brightness of that beloved face.
His table was served with the same provisions as that of
the monks ; and he slept in the general dormitory, which he
left only five days before his death, being then hopelessly ill,
to prepare himself in a more solitary place, for the last
struggle. Wlien he felt his end approaching, he had still

Januarys.] S. BcUcdict BlSCOp. 173

Strength enough left to go down into the garden; and, seat-
ing himself there, he called to him all his brethren, who
wept the anticipated loss of such a father. Then, with the
tenderness which was natural to him,, he gave to each of
them a last kiss. The following night (March 7th, 686) he
died, aged thirty-six, whilst the monks were singing matins.
When Benedict returned from his last expedition to Rome
he found his benefactor. King Egfrid, and his nephew,
Easterwin, both dead, along with a great number of his
monks, carried off by one of the epidemics then so
frequent. The only survivors at Jarrow were the abbot
and one little scholar, whose fame was destined to eclipse
that of all the Saxon Saints and kings, who are scarcely
known to posterity except by his pen.^

Benedict Biscop did not lose courage, but promptly
collected new subjects under his sway, re-commenced
and pursued, with his habitual energy, the decoration of
his two churches of S. Peter and S. Paul. The monks
had already chosen as successor to Easterwin a deacon
named Sigfried, a learned and virtuous man, but affected
with lung disease, and the first of the English in whom
history indicates a malady so general and so fatal to their
race.

Benedict's own turn was, however, soon to come. God
preserved his life to purify him, and put his patience to a
long and cruel trial, before calling him to his eternal
recompense. After having devoted the first thirteen years
of his abbacy to the laborious and wandering life so dear
to him, and to those distant expeditions that produced so
many fruits for his order and his country, he was stricken
with a cruel disease, which lasted for three years, and

» This is Bede, who describes, further on, how the abbot and that little boy
celebrated alone, and in great sadness, the whole psalms of the monastic service,
witli no little labour, until new monks arrived.

(J, _ »J<

— <^

1 74 Lives of the Saints. [January u,

paralysed all his members one after the other. Though kept
to his bed by his infirmity, and unable to follow his
brethren to the choir, he, notwithstanding, continued to
celebrate each service, both day and night, with certain of
the monks, mingling his feeble voice with theirs. At night
his sleepless hours were consoled by the reading of the
Gospels, which was kept up without interruption by a
succession of priests. Often, too, he collected the monks
and novices round his couch, addressing to them urgent
and solemn counsels, and among other things begging them
to preserve the great library which he had brought from
Rome, and not to allow it to be spoiled or dispersed ; but
above all, to keep faithfully the rules which, after a careful
study of the seventeen principal monasteries which he had
visited during his journeys, he had collected for them. He
also dwelt much upon the injunction he had already often
repeated, that they should pay no regard to high birth in
their choice of an abbot, but look simply to his life and
doctrine. " If I had to choose between two evils," said he,
" I should prefer to see the spot on which I have estab-
lished our dear monastery fall back into eternal solitude,
rather than to be succeeded here by my owoi brother, who,
we all know, is not in the good way."

The strength of the abbot, and at the same time that of
his poor coadjutor, was by this time so exhausted by their
respective diseases, that they both perceived that they must
die, and desired to see each other for the last time before
departing from this world. In order that the wish of these
two tender friends should be accomplished, it was necessary
to bring the dying coadjutor to the bed of the abbot. His
head was placed on the same pillow ; but they were both so
feeble that they could not even embrace each other, and
the help of brotherly hands was necessary to join their Hps.
All the monks assembled in chapter round this bed of

^ ^ ^

January X..] SS. X X X V I I I Moflks.

suffering and love ; and the two aged Saints, having
pointed out among them a successor, approved by all,
breathed together, with a short interval between, their last
breath. Thus died, at the age of sixty-two, S. Benedict of
England, a worthy rival of the great patriarch of the monks
of the West, whose robe and name he bore.

SS. XXXVIII MONKS, IN IONIA.
(about 750.)

[The account of their martyrdom was written by Theosterictus, a con-
fessor in the same Iconoclastic persecution.]

In the horrible persecution of the orthodox by Con-
stantine Copronymus, on the subject of the images, con-
cerning which more shall be said elsewhere, the blessed
martyr Stephen the younger, Archimandrite of Auxentia,
was in prison, when a monk, Theosterictus by name,^ was
admitted to him, \^^th his nose cut off, and his cheeks burnt
with pitch ; he came from the monastery of Peleceta, and
related to the abbot how, on the Wednesday in Holy Week,
as the unbloody Sacrifice was being offered in the monastery
church, a band of soldiers, by command of the heretical
Emperor, broke into the sacred building and interrupted the
mysteries. Thirty-eight monks were chained, the rest were
mutilated, their noses cut off, and their beards steeped in
tar, and then fired. Then the soldiers set the whole convent
in flames. The thirty-eight were carried off to the borders
of Ephesus, and thrust into the furnace of an old bath ; the
openings were then closed, and they were suffocated
therein.

1 Not to be confused with Theosterictus, disciple of the abbot S. Nicetas, who
'writes this account.

176 Lives of tlie Saints. [January 12.

S. AELRED, AB. OF RIEVAULX.
(a.d. I 166.)

[Authorities : His life in Capgrave, and his own writings, still extant.]

He was of noble descent, and was born in the north of
England, in 1109. Being educated in learning and piety,
he was invited by David, the pious King of Scotland, to his
court, made master of his household, and highly esteemed
both by him and the courtiers. His virtue shone with
bright lustre in the world, particularly his meekness, which
Christ declared to be his favourite virtue, and the distin-
guishing mark of his true disciples. The following is a
memorable instance to what a degree S. Aelred possessed this
virtue : — A certain person of quality having insulted and
reproached him in the presence of the King, Aelred heard
him out with patience, and thanked him for his charity and
sincerity, in telling him his faults. This behaviour had such
an influence on his adversary that it made him ask his par-
don on the spot. Another time, whilst he was speaking on a
certain matter, one interrupted him ^\^th very harsh reviling
expressions : the servant of God heard him with tranquility,
and afterward resumed his discourse with the same calmness
and presence of mind as before. He desired ardently to
devote himself entirely to God, by forsaking the world ; but
the charms of friendship detained him some time longer in
it, and were fetters to his soul ; reflecting notwithstanding that
he must sooner or later be separated by death from those he
loved most, he condemned his own cowardice, and broke at
once those bands of friendship, which were more agreeable to
him than all other sweets of life. To relinquish entirely all his
worldly engagements, he left Scotland, and embraced the
austere Cistercian order, at Rievaulx, in Yorkshire, where
Walter de I'Especke had founded a monastery in 11 22. At
the age of twenty-four, in 11 33, he became a monk under

^ ^

S. AELRED, ABBOT OF RIEVAUX.
From a Design by A. Welby Pugin.

Jan. , 176.]

[Jan. in.

->^H

January u.]

6^. Aelred.

177

the first abbot, William, a disciple ot S. Bernard. In spite
of the delicacy of his body he set himself cheerfully to
practise the greatest austerities, and employed much of his
time in prayer and reading. His heart turned with
great ardour to the love of God, and this made him feel all
his mortifications sweet and light. "Thy yoke doth not
oppress, but raiseth the soul; thy burden hath wings, not
weight," said he. He speaks of divine charity with love,
and by his frequent ejaculations on the subject, it seems to
have been the sweet consolation of his soul. " May thy
voice (says he) sound in my ears, O Good Jesus, that my
heart may learn how to love thee, that my mind may love
thee, that the interior powers, the bowels of my soul, and
very marrow of my heart may love thee, and that my affec-
tions may embrace thee, my only true good, my sweet and
delightful joy ! O my God ! He who loves thee possesses
thee ; and he possesses thee in proportion as he loves,
because thou art love itself. This is that abundance with
which thy beloved are inebriated, dissolved to themselves,
that they may live into thee, by loving thee." He had been
much delighted in his youth with reading Cicero ; but after
his conversion found that author, and all other reading, tedi-
ous and bitter, which was not sweetened with the honey of
the holy name of Jesus, and seasoned with the word of God,
as he says in the preface to his book On Spiritual Friendship.
He was much edified with the very looks of a holy monk,
called Simon, who had despised high birth, an ample
fortune, and all the advantages of mind and body, to serve
God in that penitential state. This monk went and came as
one deaf and dumb, always recollected in God ; and was
such a lover of silence, that he would scarce speak a few
words to the prior on necessary occasions. His silence
however was sweet, agreeable, and full of edification. Our
Saint says of him, " The very sight of his humility stifled my

VOL. I. 12

178

Lives of the Saints.

[January u.

pride, and made me blush at the want of mortification in my
looks." This holy monk, having served God eight years in
perfect fidelity, died in 1142, in wonderful peace, repeating
with his last breath, " I will sing eternally, O Lord, diy
mercy, thy mercy, tliy mercy !"

S. Aelred, much against his inclination, was made abbot
of a new monastery of his order, founded by William, Earl
of Lincoln, at Revesby, in Lincolnshire, in 1142, and after,
in 1 143, of Rievaulx, where he governed three hundred
monks. Describing their life, he says that they drank
nothing but water, ate little, laboured hard, slept little, and
on hard boards ; never spoke, except to their superiors on
necessary occasions ; and loved prayer.

L.-. ucUlo, Jan. 1, p. a). •

lis-

^ — >^

January ij.] SS. Hemiylus ttud Strato)Liciis. i 79

January 13.

Qrf)e ©ctatiE of tlje CBpipl^ang.

S. PflTiros, M., A.D. 166.

SS. Hermylus and Stratonicus, mm., at Belgrade, ad. 3 1?,

S. Glaphyra, f^., at ylviasia, circ. a.d. 334.

S. Agricius, B. of Treirei, circ. a.d. 335.

S. Hilary, B. of Puictiurs, A.n. 368.

S. ViRENTius, P., in Burgundy, a.d. 400.

S. Kentigern, B. of GUugoiv, a.d. 601.

B. Berno, ^b. of Cluny, a.d. 920.

S. Heldemar, H., in Artois, a.d. 1097.

B. Gotfried, of Kappenberg, a.d. 1127.

B. JuTTA, fy. and Recluse, at Huy, in Belgium, a.d. I2s8.

B. Veronica, A', at Milan, a.d. 1497.

5S. HERMYLUS AND STRATONICUS, MM., AT

BELGRADE.

(A.D. 315.)

[Greek Menaea and Menologium. The Acts in Metaphrastes are com-
piled from the original genuine Acts, and may be trusted.]

j'lHEN Licinius was in Mysia he sought out the
Christians, to punish them with death, being
moved thereto by his great hatred to the
rehgion of Christ, which Constantine protected.
Socrates says, in his " Ecclesiastical History," that Licinius
hated the Christians ; and that, although for a while, from
dread of Constantine, he avoided open persecution, yet he
managed to plot against them covertly, and at length pro-
ceeded to acts of undisguised malevolence. The persecution,
however, was local, not extending beyond those districts
where Licinius himself was, but these and other public out-
rages could not long remain concealed from Constantine. By
this perfidy he drew upon himself the Emperor Constan-

^ ^

I 80 Lives of the SaitltS. [January 13.

tine's heaviest displeasure ; and the pretended treaty of
friendship having been so flagrantly violated, it was not long
before they took up amis against each other.^

Wlien Licinius was at Sigidunum (Belgrade), on the
Danube, a deacon, named Hermylus, was denounced to
him as a despiser of the gods of Rome. The Emperor
ordered him to be brought before him. The order was
obeyed.

Then the Emperor said, " Answer me, and tell me openly,
dost thou confess thyself to be a Christian ?"

" Not only do I acknowledge myself to be a Christian,
but to be consecrated a deacon to the service of God."

" Well then, be deacon in the service of the gods," said
Licinius.

" 'JI10U must be deaf, Emperor ! I said that I served God
the all-seeing, not these blind stocks."

Licinius ordered the deacon to be smitten on the cheeks,
and said, " Not so glib with thy tongue, Hermylus. Hon-
our the Emperor, sacrifice to the gods, and save thy life."

Then Hermylus cried out with a loud voice, "Thou shall
endure torments without end, from the hand of God,
because thou dost adore vain idols, and seekest to destroy
those who serve tlie living God, as though envious of their
superiority."

Then the martyr was taken back to prison. And after
three days he was again brought forth, and when Licinius
had mounted the tribunal, he said, " Well now, Hermylus,
art thou prepared to abandon this folly and escape what
is in store for thee ?"

But the deacon answered, " I am ready to endure.
There is one God in heaven to whom I live, and to whom
I am ready to die. He will succour me."

" We shall soon see what His succour is worth," said the

1 Lib. 1., c. 3, 4.

^ tj(

January y.] SS. HeTviylus mid StrafoHicus. i8i

Emperor ; and ordered him to be beaten. Then six men
cast him on the ground and stripped him, and scourged him.
But Hermylus cried, " O Lord my God, who before Pilate
enduredst the scourge, strengthen me suffering for Thee, that
I may finish my course, and that, being made partaker in
Thy sufferings, I maybe made also to partake in Thy glory."

Then there was heard a voice from heaven, saying,
" Verily, verily, Hermylus, in three days shalt thou receive a
glorious reward !" Hearing this, the martyr was filled with
boldness, and a great fear fell on all around. Then Licinius
hastily remitted the deacon to prison. Now the jailor's
name was Stratonicus, and he was a disciple, but secretly,
like Nicodemus, not having great boldness, and he com-
forted Hermylus in the dungeon as well as he could, for he
was also his personal friend.

On the morrow, the Emperor ordered the brave soldier
of Christ to be led forth again, and beaten on the
stomach, as his back was one great wound, and the instru-
ment wherewith he was to be beaten was a willow rod,
twisted and knotted into a triangle, and this, say the Acts,
was a most excruciating torture, for the angles and knots cut
like knives into the flesh. But as he bore this with unflinch-
ing constancy, the tyrant commanded that his belly should
be torn with little iron hooks. Then Stratonicus, the jailor,
unable to bear the sight of his friend's sufterings, covered
his face with his hands and burst into tears. Seeing this,
the soldiers who stood by jeered him, and called the
attention of the Emperor to the agitation of the jailor.
Then Stratonicus, mustering up all his courage, cast himself
before Licinius, and cried, " Sire ! I am a Christian, I
believe in God, the maker of heaven and earth." Then
Licinius ordered him to be scourged. And Stratonicus,
looking piteously at his friend, said, " Hermylus, pray for
me to Christ, that I may be able to endure !"

->^

l82

Lives of the Saints.

[Januarj- 13.

And when Licinius saw that Stratonicus was covered with
wounds, he bade the executioners desist, and he remitted
the jailor and the prisoner to the same dungeon. But on
the morrow, finding Stratonicus resolute, he ordered him
and Hennylus to be drowned in the Danube. Then they
were tied up in nets and cast into the river. Three days
after their bodies were washed up, and were buried by the
Christians.

S. HILARY, B. D. OF POICTIERS.

(A.D. 36S.)

[In the Roman Missal, before 1435, there was no mention of S. Hilary; in
the reformed Breviary of Cardmal Quignon, published by authority of Pope
F'aul III., S. Hilary was commemorated on Jan. 31st, the same day astliat
on which he was noted in the York Calendar, becausejan. 13th is the Octave
of the Epiphany. Afterwards, however, the commemoration ofS. Hilary
was fixed for Jan. 14th, his name being inserted in the Martyrology on the
13th ; but with this clause, " His festival is, however, to be celebrated on the
morrow," so as not to interfere with the Octave of the Epiphany. The
Sarum, Dominican, Belgian, and some of the German Calendars mark
the i3lh as the feast of S. Hilary. The Anglican Calendar also notes his
name on this day. The Bollandists give his life on this day, though in the
Roman offices the commemoration is on the morrow. His own writings,
and the histories of his age, contain all the materials for his life.]

S. Hilary was bom at Poictiers in Gaul. There is some
reason to believe that his family was illustrious in that
country. His parents were pagans, and he was brought up in
idolatry. He gives an account of his conversion to the faith
of Clirist in his book " On the Trinity." He was married
before his conversion ; and his wife, by whom he had a
daughter, named Apra, was yet living when he was chosen
Bishop of Poictiers, about the year 353 ; but from the time
of his ordination he lived in perpetual continence. It is
probable that S. Hilary was elected Bishop from the rank of

i<-

■*

^ ^ ^

January 13.] S. HUaVy. 1 83

a layman, as was often the case in the early ages, and
received all orders by accumulation. He soon became
renowned in Gaul as a preacher; and S. Martin, then a
young man, was attracted by his name, and lived for a time
at Poictiers as his disciple.

Immediately after the Arian Council at Milan, in a.d.
355, which had condemned S. Athanasius, and had pre-
vailed on the Emperor Constantius to banish all the Bishops
who adhered to him, S. Hilary wrote to the Emperor,
entreating him to stop the persecution, to recall the Catholic
Bishops, and forbid secular judges to interfere in the affairs
of the Church. This remonstrance had no effect; but he
had the satisfaction of seeing the Galilean Bishops remain
firm during those days of trial. Satuminus, Bishop of Aries,
alone united with Ursacius and Valens, two lUyrian Bishops,
to vex the Catholics. They held an Arian synod at Be'ziers
in Languedoc, at which Satuminus himself presided. S.
Hilary there made a noble confession of the Nicene Faith,
and refuted the heresy of Arius ; but the party of Satuminus,
reinforced by Bishops from the neighbouring countries, was
too strong for him, and he was condemned and deposed ;
and immediately afterwards the Emperor Constantius
banished him into Phrygia. He left Gaul early in a.d. 356,
in company with Rhodanus, Bishop of Toulouse, whom
God called from those evils to His kingdom, soon after
their arrival in Phrygia.

His departi'.re was followed by a cruel persecution of the
Galilean clergy ; but nothing could daunt their constancy, or
prevail on them to communicate with the enemies of S.
Hilary and the Nicene Faith, or to fill up his see, which in
the eye of the Church was not vacant. The priests and
deacons of Toulouse were severely beaten, and their
church profaned. In a.d. 357 the Bishops ^vrote a letter
to S. Hilary assuring him of their fidelity and firmness.

* -^

184 Lives of the Saints. uamiaryu.

About the same time S. Hilary received a letter from Apra,
his only daughter, infonning him that she had been asked
in marriage by a young man. She was then about thirteen
or fourteen years of age. He immediately wrote to her,
entreating her to set her thoughts on the more precious
rewards which the Lord Jesus has promised to those virgans
who devote themselves wholly to their Heavenly Spouse,
and are not entangled in the snares of earthly love. He re-
minded her of that blissful company whom the Church
commemorates on the feast of the Holy Innocents (Dec. 28),
who sing a new song which no man can learn but they who
are virgins and follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.
She yielded to his pious counsel ; and on his return home
God took her to Himself at his request, without pain or
any visible sickness. Bishop Jeremy Taylor relates this little
story in his own beautiful language in the " Holy Dying."

In return for the comforting letter which the Gallican
Bishops had sent him, and at their request to be informed
regarding the faith of the Eastern Churches, S. Hilary wrote
his " History of Synods " in the end of a.d. 358. It contains
an account of the various councils that had been assembled
in the East on the subject of the Arian heresy, together
with a defence of the Nicene Faith. It is addressed to the
British Bishops among others, whom he congratulates on
their stedfastness. The Saint also wrote his book " On the
Trinity" during his exile, and a smaller treatise " Against tlie
Arians." He was also the undoubted author of several
hymns, and others liave been attributed to him.

In A.D. 359 the Western Bishops held a synod at Rimini,
at which nearly four hundred were present. The Arian
party among them beguiled the rest by its address, to
sanction its errors by their signatures. The Bishops of Agen
and Tongres took a prominent lead in the proceedings of
the synod. In September of Uie same year S. Hilary was in-

* ^

S. HILARY BAl'TIZING S. MARTIN OF TOURS.
From a Window, dated 1528, in the C'liurch of S. Florentin, Yonne.

THE THREE CHILDREN IN THE FIERY FURNACE.
From the Catacombs.

Jan., p. 184.]

[Jan. 13.

^ . ^

jaiu.aryi3.] S. HUavy. 185

vited with other CathoHc Bishops by the semi-Arians to their
council at Seleucia, in Isauria. Their object was to defeat
the Ariaus, and they hoped that the Cathohcs would assist
them. In this council S. Hilary bore witness to the faith of
the Western Church being the same as that declared to be
the Catholic Faith at the Council of Nice in a.d. 325, and
he protested against both the Arian and semi-Arian opinions
as novelties. He accompanied the deputies of the council
to Constantinople, in hopes of obtaining from the Emperor
Constantius the recall of his sentence of banishment.

Wliile the Arian synod was sitting at Constantinople, in
January, a.d. 360, he entreated the Emperor to grant him a
conference with Saturninus, Bishop of Aries, the author of
his exile, and that he might be allowed to appear in the
synod, and bear witness to the Catholic Faith. He also
complained of the perplexity which the multiplication of
creeds and confessions of faith had occasioned ; for in the
preceding year alone four had been published to the Church.
The Emperor refused to grant S. Hilary what he asked ;
but the Arians so much dreaded his presence in the East,
that they persuaded Constantius to send him back to Gaul,
yet without formally recalling the sentence of exile.

The joy of his return to his Church and his native land
was much lessened by the miserable confusion which he left
behind him in the East. Still it must have been very great;
and his approach was hailed with delight by the Church in
Gaul. S. Martin, who had been living in retirement in the
island of Gallenari, ofif the city of Genoa, went to Rome
to meet him ; but finding that he had already left it, he
followed him to Poictiers, and soon after built a monastery
near the town (see November 11.) S. Hilary immediately
applied himself to repair the mischief which the Council of
Rimini had done : and a synod was assembled at Paris,
which condemned its proceedings, and declared the true

^ ^

>^-

i86

Lives of the Scmils.

[January 13.

Faith of the consubstaniiality of the Son of God. The
Bishops also corresponded with their banished brethren in
the East.

In A.D. 363 S. Hilary made a journey into Italy in com-
pany with Eusebius of Vercelli. They were at Milan in the
autumn of the following year, at the time when the Emperor
Valentinian arrived there. The people were Catholic, and
even abstained from entering the churches, to avoid com-
municating with Auxentius their Arian Bishop. In a public
disputation which the Emperor invited him to hold, S.
Hilary extorted from the Arian a confession of the Nicene
Faith, which was taken do^vn in writing and preserved.
Auxentius was enraged at being thus vanquished, and pre-
vailed on the Emperor to send S. Hilary away from Milan.
Before his departure he addressed a letter to the Catholic
Bishops and laity in the neighbourhood, exhorting them to
remain firm. This was the last public act of his life which
is recorded. He returned home to Poictiers, and finished
his labours by a blessed death in January, a.d. 368, accord-
ing to the testimony of the greater number of historians. A
brilliant lidit is said to have filled the chamber where the
body of the holy man was lying. S. Gregory of Tours
attests the truth of a miracle performed at his tomb ;
and others also are authenticated by various writers. But
neither the fame of these, nor respect for the memory
of the saintly Confessor, prevented his tomb from being
violated by the Calvinists in 1567.

►i>-

-►i<

>J< ^

January 13.] S. Kefttigem. 1 87

S. KENTIGERN, OR MUNGO, B. OF GLASGOW.

(a.d 601.)

[His life was written by S. Asaph, his disciple in the monastery of Llan-
Eiwyn, in Wales, founded by Kentigern when exiled. This life has not
come down to us in its original form. We have, however, his life compiled
in 1125 by Jocelyn, monk of Furness, from ancient authorities, by order of
Bishop Jocelyn of Glasgow. Undoubtedly the life of S. Asaph formed
the basis of this compilation. S. Kentigern is also spoken of by many
ancient Scottish historians, John Major de Gest. Scotorum, hb. ii. c. 7 ;
Hector Boece, lib. ix ; Leslie, lib. iv., &c.]

S. Kentigern is said^ to have been the illegitimate son
of Themin, daughter of Loth, King of the Picts, by Eugenius
III., King of the Scots ; but there is great uncertainty about
his origin, \^^len the Pictish King found that his daughter
was likely to become a mother, he was filled with grief and
anger, and ordered her to be thrown down a rock, on Mount
Dunpeld. By God's mercy she was not injured, and was
then, by her father's orders, sent to Culross, where she
brought forth a son. At the same time S. Servan, being
engaged in saying matins, heard angels singing. \\Tien he
had finished his ofiice he left his cell, and descending to
the sea shore in the grey dusk, found there a mother rocking
her new-bom babe, wherefore the old hermit exclaimed,
being moved mth compassion, " Mochoche, mochoche !"
which being interpreted is. My dear, my dear I Then he
took the unfortunate girl and her babe to his cell, instructed
her in the faith of Christ, and baptized her and her Uttlc
one, and he called her Tanca, and him he named Kentiern.-
So the child grew up in the old man's cell, and became so
dear to him, that he called him familiarly Mungho, or
Dearest, and by this name he is generally known in Scot-
land. His mother learned to love God, and to serve him
with all her heart, and bitterly to bewail her fault.

1 By David Camerarins, Hector Bocce, and Conde\is.
' From Ken-tiem, chief lord.

->ii

188 Lives of the Saints. uanuaryij.

Many pretty legends of the childhood of Kentigem have
been wafted down to us. S. Servan had a pet redbreast
which was wont to eat out of his hand, and to perch on his
shoulder, and when he chanted the psalms of David, the
little bird flapped its wings and twittered shrilly.

Now Servan had several lads whom he educated at Culross,
and these envied Kentigern, because he was the favourite
of the old master, so in spite they wriuig the neck of the
redbreast, and charged the favourite boy with having done
the deed. But Kentigern took the littie dead bird, and
crying bitterly, and praying to God, signed the cross over
it. Then when the old man returned from church, the
bird hopped to meet him as usual, chirping joyously. In
those days it was no easy matter to kindle a fire, indeed,
without a flam J fi-om which to light one, it was impossible,
for in the north, sticks are not dry enough to be rubbed
into a blaze as they can be in hot climates. Therefore it
was necessary that fires should never be allowed to become
extinct. It was the duty of the boys of S. Servan, in turn by
weeks, to rise during the night and mend the fire, so that
there should not be a deficiency of light for illumining
the Church at the matin offices. When it was Kentigern's
week, the boys, to bring him into trouble, extinguished the
fixe. Mungo, rising as usual, went to the hearth but found
the fire out. Then he took a stick and placed it over the
cold ashes, and invoking the name of the Holy Trinity, he
blew upon the dead cinders, and a flame leaped up which
kindled the branch ; and thereat he lighted the Church
candles.

At last, unable to endure longer the envy of his fellow
pupils, Kentigern ran away. And when S. Servan discovered
it, he pursued him, and reached the bank of a river, but
Kentigern had escaped to the other side. Then the old
man cried to him, " Alas ! my dearest son, the light of my

^ — *i«

•5<-

January 13.] 6^ Kentigevfi. 189

eyes, and the staff of my age, wherefore hast thou deserted
me? Remember that I took thee from thy mother's womb,
nursed thee, and taught thee to this day. Do not desert
my white hairs."

Then Kentigem, bursting into tears, answered, " My
father, it is the will of the Most High that I should go."

Servan cried out, " Return, return, dear son, and I, from
being a father, will be to thee as a son, from being a master
I will become a disciple."

But Kentigern, suffused with tears, replied, " It cannot
be, my father ; return and admonish thy disciples, and in-
struct them by thine example. I must go where the Lord
God calls me."

Then Servan blessed him across the river, Ufting up his
holy hands, and sorrowfully they parted the one from the
otiier, to see each other's face no more in this life.

Kentigem settled near Glasgow, where he inhabited a cave
in the face of a rock, where the people looked at him
with respectful curiosity, while he studied the direction of
the storms at sea, and drank in with pleasure the first
breezes of the spring. Having converted many of the
people, together -with the King of Strathclyde, he was con-
secrated Bishop by an Irish prelate, the Keltic Church being
ignorant of the Nicene canon requiring three to consecrate,
"with unction of holy oil, invocation of the Holy Spirit,
and imposition of hands."

The district of Strathclyde, or Cumbria, on the west coast
of Britain, from the mouth of the Clyde to that of the
Mersey, that is to say, from Glasgow to Liverpool, was
occupied by a mingled race of Britons and Scots, whose
capital was Al-Cluid, now Dumbarton. It was in tliis
region that S. Kentigem was called to labour.

As bishop, he still dwelt in his rocky cell, where he used
a stone for a pillow, and to inure his body to hardships, he

190

Lives of the Saints.

[January 13.

Stood in the Clyde to recite his psalter. He wore a dress of
goat-skin bound about his loins, and a hood, and over all, his
white linen alb, which he never left off; and carried in his
hand his pastoral staff of wood without ornament, and in
his other hand his office book. Thus he was ever prepared
to execute his ministry ; and thus attired, he went through
the kingdom from the Clyde to the Frith of Forth. In his
cell he lived on bread and cheese and milk, but when he
was with the King, he relaxed the severity of his fasting, so
as not to appear ungracious when offered more abundant
and better food ; however, on his return to his cell, he
curtailed his allowance, so as to make up for his relaxation
of rule at court.

When S. Kentigem was made Bishop of Glasgow, Gurth-
mel Wledio was King of the North Britons. He was
succeeded by Roderick the Liberal (Rydderach Hael), a
religious and deserving prince, who was driven by his
rebellious subjects under Morken Mawr to Ireland. Mor-
ken having usurped the throne of Strathclyde, drove S.
Kentigem out of the country, and the Saint took refuge
in Wales with S. David, Bishop of Menevia, and remained
with him till the Prince of Denbigh bestowed on him lands,
where he built the famous monastery of Llan-Elwyn, after-
wards called S. Asaph. Here he gathered about him a great
number of disciples and scholars, and he was there at the
date of the death of S. David, in 544.

On the death of Morken, Roderick returned to Scotland,
and recovered his crown. He immediately recalled Kenti-
gem to his see, and he, leaving his monastery to the care of
S. Asaph, went back to Glasgow in 560.

Roderick's mother was Irish, and he had been baptized
by an Irish monk, and greatly respected Kentigern.
The Saint returned bringing with him a hive of Welsh
monks, and established the seat of his renewed apostle-

^5I-

-^i

January 13.] S. KetiHgem. 191

ship once more at Glasgow, where Ninian had preceded
him nearly a century before, without leaving any lasting
traces of his passage. Kentigem, more fortunate, estab-
lished upon the site of a burying-ground, consecrated by
Ninian, the first foundation of that magnificent cathedral
which still bears his name, though diverted to a religion
different from that he professed.

Kentigem collected round him numerous disciples, all
learned in holy literature, all working with their hands, and
possessing nothing as individuals. " They dwelt," says
Jocelyn, " in separate cells, as did Kentigem, thence were
they called Calledei." He distinguished himself during his
episcopate by his efforts to bring back to the faith the Picts
of Galloway, which formed part of the kingdom of Strath-
clyde ; and afterwards, by numerous mission and monastic
foundations throughout all Albyn — a name which was then
given to midland Scotland. His disciples penetrated even
to the Orkney Isles, where they probably met with the
missionaries of S. Columba, despatched from lona.

The salutary and laborious activity of Kentigem must
often have encroached upon the regions which were spe-
cially within the sphere of Columba. But the generous
heart of Columba was inaccessible to jealousy. He was,
besides, the personal friend of Kentigem and of King
Roderick.^ The fame of the Bishop of Strathclyde's
apostolic labours drew him from his isle to do homage to
his rival in love and good works. He arrived from lona
with a great train of monks, whom he arrayed in three
companies at the moment of their entrance into Glasgow.
Kentigem distributed in the same way the numerous monks
who surrounded him in his episcopal monastery, and whom
he led out to meet the abbot of lona. He divided them,
according to tlieir age, into three bands, the youngest of

' Adamnan i. ij.

■^

192

Lives of the Saints.

[January 13.

whom walked first ; then those who had reached the age of
manhood ; and last of all, the old and grey-haired, among
whom he himself took his place. They all chanted the
anthem, " They shall sing in the ways of the Lord : that
great is the glory of the Lord. The path of the just is
made : and the way of the saints is prepared." The monks
of lona, on their side, chanted the versicle, " The saints
shall go from strength to strength : and unto the God of gods
appeareth every one of them in Sion."^ From every side
echoed the Alleluia ; and it was to the sound of these
words of Holy Scripture that the Apostles of the Picts and
Scots met at what had been the extreme boundary of the
Roman empire, and limit of the power of the Csesars, and
upon a soil henceforth for ever freed from paganism and
idolatry. They embraced each other tenderly, and passed
several days in intimate and friendly intercourse.

The historian, who has preserved for us the account of
this interview, does not conceal a less edifjang incident
He confesses that some robbers had joined themselves to
the following of the abbot of lona, and that they took
advantage of the general enthusiasm to steal a ram from
the Bishop's flock. They were soon taken ; but Kentigem
pardoned them. Columba and his fellow Apostle exchanged
their pastoral staves before they parted, in token of mutual
affection. The staff of S. Columba, afterwards used by
S. Kentigern, was in later times given to S. Wilfred, who
placed it in the monastic church he founded at Ripon.

I know not how far we may put faith in another narrative
of Jocelyn, which has remained Kentigern's most popular
title to fame. The wife of King Roderick, led astray by a
guilty passion for a knight of her husband's court, had the

1 In viis Domini rmgna est gloria Domini, et via justorum facta est: ct iter
sanctorum pra'paratum est. Ibunt sancti de virtute in virtutem : videbitur Deus
corum in Sion.

January 13.]

S. Kentigern.

193

weakness to bestow on him a ring which had been given to
her by the King. When Roderick was out hunting with this
knight, the two took refuge on the banks of the Clyde,
during the heat of the day, and the knight, falhng asleep,
unwittingly stretched out his hand, upon which the King saw
the ring which he had given to the Queen as a token of his
love. It was with difficulty that he restrained himself
from killing the knight on the spot ; but he subdued his
rage, and contented himself by taking the ring from his
finger, and throwing it into the river, without awakening the
guilty sleeper. When he had returned to the town, he de-
manded his ring from the Queen, and, as she could not
produce it, threw her into prison, and gave orders for her
execution. She obtained, however, a delay of three days,
and having in vain sought the ring from the knight to whom
she had given it, she had recourse to S. Kentigern. He,
moved by the remembrance of his mother, through whose
sin he had entered the world, and anxious that the un-
happy woman should be given time for repentance, prayed
to God, and the ring was found in the belly of a salmon
caught in the Clyde, and sent by him to the Queen, who
showed it to her husband, and thus escaped the punishment
which awaited her. On her liberation she hastened to
Kentigern, confessed her fault to him, and was exhorted by
him to amend her life and do penance for the past. It is
for this reason that the ancient effigies of the Apostle of
Strathclyde represent him holding the episcopal cross in
one hand, and in the other a salmon with a ring in its
mouth.

S. Kentigern lived to a very advanced age, and his jaws
being too weak to masticate his food, his lower jaw was
supported by a band of linen tied round his head. He
died gently as he was being lifted out of a warm bath, in
the year 60 1.

VOL. I. 13

194

Lives of the Saints.

[January 13.

Patron of Glas2;ow.

In art, represented with a fish and a ring. (See above.)

B. GOTFRIED OF KAPPENBERG.

(a.d. 1 1 27.)

[His life by a writer of the same time, a monk of Kappenberg, who,
though he did not know Gotfried himself, derived his information from
those who knew him well. He is also mentioned, and the principal
incidents of his life noticed, in the life of S. Norbert.]

Godfrey or Gotfried, Count of Kappenberg,^ in West-
phaUa, Uved at a period when the nobles of Germany were
engaged in constant feuds with one another, falling on each
others lands, burning the villages, and carrying off the cattle.
It was a period when the poor suffered untold woes. " It is
good to live under the crook," they said, meaning that their
only place, where they could live in security, was on the
lands of the abbeys. One little incident mentioned in the
life of Count Gotfried, shews the lawlessness of the times.
The Count and the city of Miinster not being on good terms,
a party of the Kappenbergers made a foray, and swept up
all the cattle from the farms in the neighbourhood of Miinster,
and brought them in triumph to the Count ; but he rebuked
them saying, "Take all these back again; my quarrel is with
the men of the city ; it is not seemly that the innocent and
helpless farmers should lose their all on account of a contest
of the rights of which they know nothing."

Gotfried happening to attend, along mth his brother Otto,
the preaching of S. Norbert, who traversed Westphalia
at this time, was converted, and resolved on turning his
fortress into a monastery. His wife at first opposed his
intention, and his relations used all their influence to dis-

' Near Lunen, on the river Lippe.

>J<-

^ ^

January 13.] B. Gotfricd. IQ^

suade him. But his earnestness moved his wife at last to
withdraw her objections, and to consent to his entering the
rehgious life ; she, at the same time, also resolved to take
the veil. Accordingly, Gotfried and his brother Otto, who
was his junior, received the tonsure, and became canons of
S. Augustine, under the rule of S. Norbert of Pre'montre'.
Frederick, Count of Amsberg, the father of Gotfried's wife,
was furious. He was a man of great cruelty, in whose
dungeons languished many wretches, and who delighted
in war. His protests were in vain, the Count of Kappenberg
transformed his castle into a monastery, and built two more,
at Varlar and Elstadt. So great was the humility of Got-
fried, that finding he was continually given his title of Count,
even by the brethren, he took upon himself the most dis-
agreeable office in the house, that of scourer of the privies.

Frederick, Count of Arnsberg, finding remonstrances in
vain, threatened to fall on the county of Kappenberg, and
drive the monks out. " As for that Norbert !" he exclaimed,
" who has come riding on an ass through Westphalia, turning
men's heads, let me catch him, and I'll hang him and his ass
at the tvvo ends of one rope over a bough, and see which is
the heaviest fool of the twain."

Gotfried and his brethren sent to Pre'montre', to tell their
father in religion, that it was impossible for them to remain
in Germany, that Count Arnsberg would attack them shortly ;
and they added the threat uttered against Norbert himself
and his ass.

"Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, said
Christ," he wrote back to them, "and as for me and my
ass, we are coming into Westphalia to be weighed one
against the other." Nor was S. Norbert long in coming ; he
rode upon his ass to the door of Kappenberg ; but there was
no further danger. Count Frederick of Arnsberg was dead.

Before he died, Gotfried visited the cradle of his order.

196

Lives of the Saints.

[January 13.

Pr(fmontr^, the home of S. Norbert. On his way back, next
year, he sickened, and died at Elstadt.

B. VERONICA, V. OF MILAN.

(A.D. 1497.)

[Beatified by Pope Leo X. Her life and revelations were written by
Brother Isidore of Isolani, O.S.D., from the account given him by those
who had known her well ; among others from the notes of Benedeita, and
the recital of Thadilasa, two sisters, who had been intimately acquainted
with Veronica. This account was printed in 1518, at Milan.]

Veronica was the daughter of a pious peasant at Binasco,
a small village between Milan and Pavia. Her father was
noted for his integrity, and when he sold a horse he always
mentioned its defects to the purchaser. Veronica was em-
ployed in the fields weeding, as the parents were too poor to
send her to the school. Veronica desired earnestly to
become a sister in the convent of S. Martha, at Milan,, but
her mother assured her that it was impossible to join a
religious community without a knowledge of letters.
Accordingly, every night Veronica laboured, by the light
of her little oil lamp, at her alphabet and spelling book ; but
she made litde progress. One night, as she lay with her
hands spread out on the table, and her head bowed, dis-
heartened at the difficulty of her task, the Blessed Virgin
appeared to her in a robe of dazzling blue, like the summer
sky. " My child," said the gentle Mother, " trouble thy-
self not with this scholarship, the only learning thou needst
is comprised in three letters, white, black, and red. This
white letter is purity of soul and body ; this black letter is
simplicity, contentedness with what God sends you, and
freedom from taking offence \ this red letter is meditation
on the passion of my dear Son. Let these three branches

■*

Ij< —^ ,5

January 13.] B. Vevonica. 197

of learning be mastered, and all the other letters come of
themselves."

Veronica, some years later, entered the convent of S.
Martha, as a lay sister, and her duties were to beg for the
society, as her ignorance of reading and Latin disqualified
her from chanting the choir offices with the full sisters.

She persevered in the study of those three letters shown
her by the Queen of Heaven, and in studying them she
advanced far on the way of perfection. She was honoured
with wondrous revelations, but her modesty was so great
that she sought to conceal them. On the Octave of Corpus
Christi, 1487, during mass, she saw in the adorable Sacra-
ment exposed in the Tabernacle, the form of Jesus Christ
as a little child surrounded by adoring angels. In her sim-
plicity she asked one of the other sisters if she had seen
the Holy Child, and when she answered in the negative,
Veronica flushed red, and said no more.

It was a great disappointment to her that she was unable
to sing the choir offices, and she made it a special object of
prayer that her understanding might be enlightened, so that
she might join the others in their psalmody. Then an
angel descended to her cell, and he held in his hand the
psalter, and opening it before her, bade her read, and all her
difficulty passed away, and she chanted the psalms of David,
with the antiphons and responses, alternately ■\\dth the Angel
of God. One night, when she had been very ill, and
deprived of the privilege of communion, she rose from her
sick bed, drawn by an irresistible impulse to the church. It
was full of light ; she cast herself at the altar steps, before
the adorable Sacrament, and Jesus in a cloud of glory com-
municated her Himself.

She lay three years in a lingering illness, all which time
she would never be exempted from any of the duty of the
house, or make use of the least indulgence, though she was

■^ — »j

198

Lives of the Saints.

[January 13.

given leave ; her answer always was, " I must work whilst
I can, whilst I have time."

Sister Thaddasa informed the writer of her life, that on ^Vllit-
sun-Monday, 1496, she went to the cell of Veronica, who
was ill, at the hour of nones, and was astonished to see a
bright light streaming from the chinks in the door. Looking
in' through a hole, she saw Veronica, in dazzling light, chant-
ing nones. Veronica died in the year 1497.

Seal of Kobert Wishart, Bp, cf Glasgow. 1073-1316 See Life of S. Kentigern, p. IK.

— ^

^ -*

Januar)- mO ' 6'. FcHx. 1 99

January 14.

S. PoNTlAN, M., at Sj'oleto, ind cent.

S. Felix, P. C, at Nola, yd cent.

S. Macrina, at Neocccs.irea, \ih cent.

SS. Theodulus, Paul, Proclus, Hypatius, Isaac, and Others,

Monks, MM., at Sinai, ^th cent.
S. Datius, Abp. of Milan, a.d. 552.
S. FULGENTIUS, B. of Carthagina, A.D. 619.
B. Engelmar, H. M. in Bavaria, beginning of i-ith cent.
S. Sabbas, Abp. ofScrvia, t^th cent.
B. Ordorico, Friar at Udine, in Italy, a.d. 1331.
For S. Hilary, see Jan. 13.

S. FELIX, P. C, AT NOLA.

(3RD CENT.)

[On this day are commemorated two priests, Confessors, of Nola, of the
same name, Felix. This has led to almost inextricable confusion among
Marty rologists. There is another, a martyr, of this name. The life of
S. Felix is given by S. Gregory of Tours, De Glor. Martyr, lib. i. c. 104,
and by the Venerable Bede. The miracles wrought by him have also been
recorded by S. Paulinus of Nola.]

fAINT FELIX was a native of Nola, in Cam-
pania, where his father, Hermias, who was by
birth a Siyrian, and had served in the army, had
purchas(;d an estate and settled. He had two
sons, Felix and Hemiias, to whom, at his death, he left his
property. The younger, lo\-ing the things of Csesar rather
than the things of God, says Bede, served in the army, but
Felix, more happy — as his name implies — enrolled himself as
a soldier of Jesus Christ. Having passed the grades of
lector and exorcist, he was finally ordained priest by Max-
imus, Bishop of Nola.

Persecution having broken out, the aged Bishop, mindful
of the injunction, "When they persecute you in one city

200 Lives of the Saints. [January 14.

flee to another" (Matt. x. 23), escaped to the hills, and left
his flock to the charge of Felix, whom he designated as his
successor. The persecutors, not finding the Bishop, seized
on Felix, and cast him, heavily ironed, into a dungeon
strewn with broken crockery, into which no ray of light
entered. In the meantime, Maximus was perishing with
cold and hunger in the mountains, hardships which his
great age made him unable to endure.

One night an angel appeared to Felix, and bade him go
forth out of prison and succour the aged Bishop. Then his
chains fell off his neck, and hands, and feet, and the doors
opened to him of their own accord, and guided by the
angel, he was brought to the hiding place of Maximus,
whom he found prostrate and speechless, and apparently
dying. He moistened the old man's lips with wine, and
forced some food into his moutli, and chafed his frozen
limbs. By slow degrees the Bishop was restored, and then
laying him upon his shoulders, Felix carried him home
before daybreak, where a pious old woman took care
of him.

Felix, with the blessing of his pastor, repaired secretly to
his own lodgings, and there kept himself concealed, praying
for the Church without ceasing, till peace was restored to it
by the death of the Emperor Decius in 251. Persecution
breaking forth again, the sergeants were sent in quest of
Felix. Meeting him in the street, and not recognizing him,
they stopped him and asked if he had met Felix on the way.
" No," he answered ; " I have not met him." They went
on, but something arousing their suspicion, they had not
gone far before they turned and hastened back. Felix
had, in the meantime, crept through a small hole in
some old broken walls. The officers came to the place,
but seeing a spider's web covering the hole, they did
not search the place, thinking that Felix could not have

* )J<

January 14.] ^. Fclix. 201

passed that way. But this was the Lord's doing. He had
sent the Httle spider to drop his Hnes and lace them together,
with the utmost rapidity, over the place through which His
servant had escaped. Felix, finding among the ruins, be-
tween two houses, an old well half dug, hid himself in
it for six months ; and received during that time wherewithal
to subsist from a devout Christian woman.

Peace having been restored to the Church, the Saint
quitted his retreat, and was received in the city as an
angel from heaven. Soon after, S. Maximus dying, Felix
was unanimously elected Bishop ; but he persuaded the
people to make choice of Quintus, because he was the
senior priest, having been ordained seven days before him.

His property having been confiscated in the persecution,
S. Felix rented a little spot of barren land, not exceeding
three acres, which he tilled with his own hands, and was
able by his industry to support himself, and give something
in alms to the poor. He died at a good old age, on Jan.
14th, on which day the Martyrology, under the name of
S. Jerome, and all others of later date mention him.

Patron of Nola, in conjunction with other Saints.

Relics, in the Cathedral at Nola.

In art, he is represented (i), with an angel striking off his
chains ; (2), with a bunch of grapes, wherewith he fed
S. Maximus ; (3), bearing S. Maximus on his shoulders, or
in his arms ; (4), with a spider.

* -^

-'^

202

Lives of the Saints.

[January 14.

S. MACRINA THE ELDER, C, AT NEOC^SAREA.

(4TH CENT.)

[Spoken of by S. Gregory Nyssen, her grandson, in his life of his sister
Macrina. S. Gregory Nazianzen gives a fuller account in his life of her
grandson, S. Basil the Great.]

In the persecution of Galerius, a.d. 304, S. Macrina and
her husband were obliged to hide till the tyranny was over-
past, in a wooded mountain in Pontus, for seven years,
suffering severely from cold and from insufficiency of food.
They were, however, able to catch and kill wild deer.

SS. THEODULUS, P. PAUL, PROCLUS, HYPATIUS,
ISAAC, AND OTHERS, MONKS AND IMM. AT SINAI.

(5TH CENT.)

[Roman Martyrology. German Martyrology on the 13th Jan. The
account of the mart>Tdom of these monks was written by S. Nilus himself,
an eye-witness of their passion, and father of Theodulus, one of the
sufferers, though not the martyr cf the same name.]

" O MY friends," says S. Nilus, in his account of the
tragedy commemorated this day ■} " I, wretched man that I
am, had \\\o sons, one of whom I had to lament, the other
remained with his mother. After I had become the father
of these two, my wife and I separated. A vehement crav-
in<: after solitude and rest drew me into the desert ; I could
think and look to nothing else. When the desire of any-
thing has engrossed the mind, it draws it violently from
all things else, even from good works, and strains towards
t'lat which it desires, heeding no impediments and toils.
WTien, then, I was thus impelled to go forth, I took my two
sons — they were quite littie fellows then — and I led them

1 The narrative of S. Nilus is necessarily much condensed. I regret having to do
this, as it iv most touching in its entirety.

.J<-

January 14 ] S. TJicodtihis a7id Co7)ipanio7ts. 203

to their mother, and I gave one to her, and kept the other
with me, and I told her my design, and begged her not to
oppose it. She did not resist me, seeing my earnestness,
yielding rather to necessity than consenting spontaneously.
But know, all of you, that the separation of those who have
been united in legitimate marriage, and have become
one body, by Him who in His secret council has joined
them, is no light matter. It is like hacking through a
living body with a sword."

Nilus, having escaped mth his little son Theodulus into
the deserts of Sinai, took up his abode with the monks, and
served God in the solitude and rest he had so much desired.
" Among these," continues Nilus, " Caesar's money does not
circulate, for they neither buy nor sell. Each is ready to
give freely to the other whatever he wants. Olives and
dates, and rarely bread, is all they have to give, but they
become tokens of charity, and sufficiently evidence liberality
of intention. There is no envy among them, and he who
abounds less in good works does not feel jealous of him
who abounds more.' Their cells are not close together, but
at some Httle distance from one another, not because of
want of love, but that they may mould themselves to the
pattern God has set before them in all quiet and silence.
On the Lord's Day they all assemble in one church, and
meet accordingly once a week ; lest, on the other hand, total
isolation should break the bonds of concord and make them
forgetful of the ofiices due to one another, and their manners
become savage and uncouth. After having all participated
of the Divine Mysteries, they accordingly meet to converse.
But why should I relate more of their ways ? All at once a
storm came on, a cloud of barbarians burst upon the settle-
ment, early one morning, when the hymns had just ceased.
I was there then with my son. I was descending the holy
mountain to visit the Saints who inhabited the bush, as I

^ _

fi<.

204

Lives of the Saints.

[January 14.

was wont to do often, when I heard the noise of shouts and
cries, and Hke yelping of dogs, the barbarians carried off all
the Saints had prepared for their winter provision. They
dragged them out of the church and stripped them, and
made a circle round them with drawn swords, and eyes filled
with fury, ready to kill them. Then, first they bade the
priest stretch out his neck, and he, without a cry, though
they cut him on the back with their blades, signed himself
and whispered, ' Blessed be the Lord !' One blow cut him
from the back-bone to the jaw, and cut through his ear; the
next blow was from his shoulder to his cheek. So the holy
man sank down modestly. The previous evening that
admirable man at supper had said, * How do we know
whether we shall all live to meet again at table?' After that
they killed him who lived with the old priest, and then the
boy who served them." Then the Arabs, brandishing their
bloody weapons, rushed after the monks, M'ho scattered in
all directions, some escaping down the valley, and some,
Niius included, flying up the all but inaccessible rocks of
Sinai, whither the Arabs did not trouble themselves to pursue
them. Nilus escaped reluctantly, for his boy was in the
hands of the barbarians. " I stood bewildered," he says
"not knowing what to do, and bound to the child by my
bowels of love, and unable to fly till the boy made signs
to me with his eyes to escape ; but I could hardly persuade
myself to do so. My feet went forward and dragged my
body along, I hardly knew how, for my heart would not
leave him, and I turned my face ever and anon to look at
the boy. Thus I reached the mountain, following the others,
and saw my poor boy carried away, unable to look about
him as he would, but furtively casting glances towards where
I was. Such is the tie of nature, that separation of bodies
does not break it, but it is cruelly wrenched. The cow
which is led away lows piteously and often, always turning

^ — ^ *

januarv- M-] 6'. TJieoduliis and Companions. 205

its head towards the dear calf, and by its eyes proving the
intensity of its grief And I, when I had reached, I know
not how, the mountain top, with my mind one way and
my body elsewhere, I tried still to see my son, but I
could not, the distance was too great. Then I burst into
prayer to God, weeping for my captive son and the murdered
saints."

" After the barbarians had killed many others, they went
their way ; and as day declined we were able, without fear,
to descend and bury the bodies. We found some quite
dead, but Theodulus, the priest, was still breathing and able
to speak. Therefore we, sitting down there, passed the
night there, weeping, at the old man's request." The dying
priest bade them be of good cheer, reminding them that Job
was robbed of his substance and his children, and was
grievously plagued in his body, yet, trusting in God, he was
given in the end more than he had lost. Then, kissing the
survivors, he breathed forth his holy soul. S. Theodulus
and these martyrs fell on Jan. 14th ; but other sufferers who
were put to death by this horde of barbarians are com-
memorated with them. S. Nilus gives an account of the
sufferings of several of these, whom the Arabs hunted fxom
the rocks, wherever there was a spring of water and a patch
of herbage.

Nilus, having obtained money, went into the desert in
quest of the Arabs, in company with an amied embassy,
to their chief or king, that he might ransom his son.
" Having gone eight days, we were hard pressed for want of
water ; but those who knew the locality said that there was
a spring somewhere near. So the party ran here and there
in their eagerness to find and enjoy it; and I went along
too, but on account of my age was not able to travel as fast
as they, and could not run without loss of dignity. Now the
well was really behind them, hidden behind a little hill, so

206 Lives of the Saints. [January 14.

that they kept rushing further from it, and I, ascending the
mound, hghted suddenly upon it, for it lay on the other side,
and there I saw a number of Arabs gathered round it. When
I thus fell into the hands of the enemy, I cannot say whether
I was glad or sorry, for I was between the two conditions of
mind, being fearful for my personal safety, but very anxious
to see my son, whom I hoped to deliver out of captivity, or
at least to share captivity with him. Those who had accom-
panied me escaped, throwing themselves down, and creeping
away behind the hill ; but the barbarians, shouting, sur-
rounded me, and dragged me violently about, but I looked
about with great desire, hoping among them to catch a sight
of my boy.

"Suddenly, some of our party, armed, appeared on the
horizon, and the barbarians, in great alarm, fled away, and
in a moment the spot where they had swarmed was bare and
lifeless.

"Next day we continued our course, and so for four days
did we persevere, till we reached the camp ; and when it
was announced that there were ambassadors come to the
King, we were brought before Haman, the chief of the bar-
barians. Who, when we had presented gifts, gave us a
gracious reception, and lodged us near him, till he could
make perquisition for the offenders. My heart beat violently,
and I waited the result in an agony of suspense. Every
sound seemed to me to speak of him whom I sought so
anxiously ; my ears were ever on the alert, and my mind on
the stretch for the tidings, that I might be certified whether
my son lived or was dead. Ever before my eyes I saw his
image, sometimes I saw him killed in one way, sometimes in
another, and I fancied 1 heard his weeping voice calling me.
O wretched boy ! art thou alive or art thou dead ? If thou
hast escaped death, what miserable bondage is thine? If
thou hast died, where is thine unburied corpse ?

January 14.] S. Tkcocliilus aiid Cofupafiions. 207

" At last the messengers returned, and by their faces I
read the sad news. ' You need not speak,' I said, ' I see in
your countenances that I have no hope.' But they assured
me that Theodulus, my little fellow, was not dead, but was
sold to some one or other in the city Eleusa. Then I re-
solved to go there in quest of him. But I had no rest in
mind, for I thought, Well, if he lives, he is lost to me, for he
serves as a slave ; he cannot follow his free will, but is for
ever subject to the caprice of a master.

" As we were on our way to Eleusa, a young man, driving
some laden animals, met us. He had already seen me in
the camp, and he knew all about my affair. He, being in
Eleusa, made inquiries, and learned that my son had been
brought there by the barbarians, and had been sold. Seeing
me coming, he advanced fast and smiling towards me, and
when we were within speaking distance, he shouted cheerily
to me, and stretching forth his right hand, he turned it behind
him over his shoulder, and pulled out a letter from his
quiver, which he gave to me, telling me that my boy was
alive, and bade me be of good cheer, and not to be out of
heart because he was a slave, for he had been bought by a
Christian priest.

" Then I, being without money or home, and unable thus
to reward the fellow, blessed him with many tears, and prayed
that he might be abundantly rewarded by God for the joy he
gave me, I being unable to offer him anything.

" But I, as soon as I reached the city, went first of all to
the church, as to the source of all good, and I gave honour
there to God, watering the pavement with my tears, and fill-
ing the sacred building with the sound of my sobs. Thence
I was guided to the house where my son was, sending first
of all before me messengers to break the news of my
coming. All knew me, by the report which had preceded
me, to be the father of the boy who had been sold there,

208 Lives of the Saints. [January u.

and there was not a person all along the street who did not
express joy, in countenance, and running out of their houses
with glad faces, seemed as though each rejoiced with me
over a lost son re-found.

" Now when we came to the door of the house, he was
called out and told that I was there, and they brought him
to salute me. And when we saw one another, we did not
rejoice, nor exclaim at first, but both cried till our tears
dribbled over our breasts. He ran to me, but scarcely knew
me, I was so ragged in dress, and my hair uncombed.
Believing what others said rather than knowing me, he came
with arms outspread and clasped me round with bursting
heart. But / knew him when he was a long way off, though
there were numbers of others there, for it was just the same
face, stamped by constant remembrance on my mind ; and
unable to contain my joy, my strength suddenly failed me,
and I fell down. Then the people, seeing me with open
mouth on the ground, thought me dead. There was great
outcry, but when my son had clasped me in his arms, my
spirit came back, and I knew where I was, and who I was,
whom I saw before me with mine eyes. Then I hugged
him and he hugged me, never satisfying our great desire.
However, at last, when more composed, I blamed myself to
him as the cause of all these misfortunes, because I had
taken him away from his home to a wild place which was
full of danger, and it was so, as I said."

Then Theodulus told his father all his adventures with
the Arabs. " Father," said he, "on the night after we were
taken, the barbarians had prepared everything for a sacrifice,
altar, sword, incense, and the like, and we thought we were
sure to be killed and offered up on the morrow. Then my
fellow captive, in the night, ran away and escaped, but I was
afraid to do so, not knowing whither to go in the desert, but
I prayed to God till I fell asleep. And, waking early in the

^— — ^

Januarys.] 6". Theodiilus aiicl Companions. 209

morning when daAvn broke on the horizon, I knelt with my
hands on my knees, and my face bowed upon them, wetting
my bosom with my tears, and again with my whole heart I
cried out to Him who alone could deUver me, ' Thou, Lord,
alone hast power over hfe and death, Thou hast shown
wonders of old and hast delivered Thy servants out of peril.
Thou didst save Isaac, lying on the altar, and Joseph from
the hands of his brethren. Save me, too, for Thy great
Name's sake.'

" Then, presently, the Arabs awoke, and making a great
noise because my companion was gone, asked me where he
was ; but when I said that I did not know, because I had
not run away, they were not angry. Then my mind became
calm, and I blessed God. After that they consulted, and
brought me to the city to sell me. They stripped me naked,
and put a sword round my neck, to show that if I was not
bought they would kill me. Then I was exposed for sale,
and I stretched out my hands suppliantly to the purchasers
to save me from death, promising my glad service if they
would redeem my blood. Then after a while he came by
and bought me, even the Bishop of this place."

Now the Bishop had bought the boy out of charity, and
he at once surrendered him to his father, regarding nothing
the price he had paid for him, and he, moreover, furnished
them with food for their long journey home ; and before he
dismissed them, feeling confident of their vocation, he or-
dained together to the priesthood both father and son.

VOL. I. 14

^ 1^

2IO Lives of the Saints. [ja..uar>' m.

S. DATIUS, ABP. C, OF MILAN.
(a.d. 552.)

[Roman and other Latin Martyrologies. Datius, Dacius, or Dasius, is
spoken of by Procopius Cassidoms, whose letter to S. Datius is extant, and
by S. Gregory the Great, who relates the incident of his reduction of the
evil spirits to silence, narrated in the text, in his Dialogues, lib. iii., c. 4.]

S. Datius ruled the see of Milan in a stormy time, when
Italy was over-run witli the Goths. When Milan was
threatened, S. Datius implored Belisarius to come to its
protection, or send troops to defend the city. Belisarius
was then at Rome, and S. Datius made the journey to Rome,
on purpose to urge upon him, in perjon, the protection of
the city. Belisarius, though hard pressed through the defici-
ency of supplies afforded him by the Emperor Justinian,
detached a body of men to the defence of the Milanese, and
for a time Milan was thought to be safe. Soon, however, a
large army of Goths and Burgimdians swooped down upon
it and besieged it. Belisarius, seeing the danger to which
the city was exposed, sent troops under his generals, Martin
and Uliaris, to the succour. But they, through timidity, did
not venture to attack the Goths. In the city famine pre-
vailed to such an extent, that as S. Datius relates in his Annals,
an unfortunate mother roasted and ate her infant, that being
the first morsel she had eaten since her confinement. The
city was surrendered, but the terms of surrender were not kept.
It was given up to plunder, and the streets ran with the blood
of the butchered citizens. What became of the Archbishop
is not known ; some assert that he was taken captive to
Ravenna, but was liberated at the intercession of his friend
Cassiodorus.

The Arian King, Totila, drove S. Datius from his see, and
he escaped to Constantinople. On his way occurred that
incident recorded by S. Gregory the Great, by which he is
chiefly known. Arriving at Corinth, and looking about for

January i-i.] B. Ordortc. 2 I I

a large house, which would lodge him and his companions,
he saw a mansion, which seemed exactly suited to his
purpose, and was apparently unoccupied. Having insti-
tuted inquiries, he was told that the house was haunted,
and that it was impossible for any man to spend the night
in it. " Ghost and devil will not scare a servant of God !"
said S. Datius, and he ordered beds to be made in the
haunted house. He said his prayers as usual, and then
retired to rest. About midnight he was aroused by a hide-
ous rout, like the braying of asses, t'le grunting of swine,
the squeaking of rats, and the hissing of serpents. Then
Datius, raising himself in bed, shouted, " Oh, Satan ! thou
who saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God : I will be like the
most High ! (Isa. xiv. 13, 14.) Well done, I say, Satan !
Thou, who wouldst be like God, art reduced to bray like a
jackass, and grunt like a hog." Instantly there was dead
silence, and S. Datius was no more troubled with unearthly
noises.

B. ORDORICO, O.S.F.
(a.d. 1331.)

[His life, by several writers on the Franciscan Saints. His travels were
dictated by han to Friar Guglielmo, who wrote them down, and added an
account of his death. No copy of his original Latin MS. exists, and the
Italian and Latin copies we have vary so much from one another that it is
difficult to know which is the most correct. Copyists, not considering the
things related in his travels as sufficiently marvellous, have supplied by
their fancy what Ordorico never dictated. Although no copy of the origi-
nal MS. exists, we can trace the progress of amplification and error by
comparing the oldest and best account of the travels extant, with some of
the later narratives of Friar Ordorico's lie and adventure.]

Among the early travellers in the East a conspicuous
place is due to Friar Ordorico de Pordenone, commonly

4, -»J»

^ — . *

2 12 Lives of the Saints. LianuaryM.

called II Beato, the Blessed. He was bom in the district of
Pordenone, in the Friuli, about the year 1286. Early in
life he entered the Order of Friars Minors, or Franciscans,
and took the vows in their house at Udine. After many
years of exemplary life and industry he girded up his loins
for the perilous pilgrimage and great mission — that is, he
proceeded to the remote countries of the East to convert the
infidel and idolater. He is believed to have been absent
from Italy for the long space of sixteen years. He took
with him his monastic habit, his cord, and his pilgrim's staff,
and apparently no other thing. Where there were Chris-
tians, he claimed their charity ; and where there were none,
he threw himself upon the hospitality of the unbelievers.
Friar Ordorico went from the Adriatic Sea to Constanti-
nople, and proceeding from that great city to the Black Sea,
he landed at Trebizond. From Trebizond he travelled
through Armenia and Persia, and came to Ormuz on the
Persian Gulf. At Ur of the Chaldees, he was shocked to
fmd that the men did the knitting and spinning ; and he was
surprised that they liked a head of venison more than four
fat partridges. At Bagdad, says he, the men are handsome
and the women ugly ; the women carry loads and the men
saunter about in idleness. But this, alas ! is not confined to
Bagdad. At the port of Balsora he embarked, and crossing
the Indian Ocean, he reached the coasts of Malabar.
There, says he, he much surprised, the people prefer dates
to venison. Thence he turned round upon Ceylon. He
landed in that magnificent island, and travelled through the
greater part of it. He describes the quantities of elephants
which are found in the interior of that country ; the blood-
sucking land-leeches, so well-known to the Indians, which
render the passage through the jungle so painful to
Europeans ; he correctly describes the general qualities of
that remarkable tree, the talipot, which flourishes in the

^_ __ ^

Januarys.] B. Ordovico. 213

island of Ceylon, and in the contiguous Malabar country.
He mentions Adam's Peak, and the lake at its side, which
the natives told him was formed of the tears of Adam and
Eve after their fall. "But," adds the friar, "I perceived
this to be false, for I saw the water flowing from the moun-
tain into the lake, and filling it." He adds that on the sides
of the lake rubies are discovered. His account of the pearl
fishery is without exaggeration. In the neighbouring con-
tinent some of the Brahminical superstitions are correctly
set down. The excessive cruelty and indisputable canni-
balism of the Andaman Islanders, who are called natives of
Bodan, are accurately noted. So shocked was the friar with
what he saw there, that he remained there some while
preaching, but he admits with no s\iccess. Then he
voyaged to Meliapore. After this he ran down the Indian
Ocean to Sumatra and Java, whence he appears to have
reached some of the islands of Japan, which he calls Zapan.
He next entered the empire of China, and there he remained
several years. He travelled through various of the vast
provinces of China, and then turned West, and after long
and dangerous wayfaring, he entered the country of
Thibet.

In company with three other friars, he was one day resting
with them under a tree, when the Khan passed by. Then
one of the friars, who was a bishop, put on his pontifical vest-
ments, and took his pastoral cross, and all four advanced to
meet the Khan chanting the Veni Creator. Then the Khan
stopped his car, and asked who these were, and when told that
tliey were four Frank missionaries, he called them to him, and
kissed the cross of the bishop. Then, because it is the
custom of the country not to approach the king empty-
handed, the friars offered him a plate with some apples on
it The Khan took two, ate one, and drove away tossing
tlie other about in his hands. From his kissing the cross

1^-

214

Lives of the Sahits.

[January 14,

the friars were satisfied that he knew something of the
CathoHc faith.

The account left of these travels breaks off abruptly in
Thibet, leaving us entirely in the dark as to the route and
the manner by which the friar reached Europe. It is kno\\Ti,
however, from a postscript to his book, that he returned in
1330, when he was forty- four years old. His health appears
to have been much broken by tlie fatigues and privations
he had undergone during his peregrinations ; and he died
within a few months after his return to his native country.^

' A much fuller account of the travels of B. Ordorico than 1 am able to give here
may be read In MacFarlane's " Romance of Travel," II. c. i. The most correct
version of these travels Is that piven by Bollandus, Jan. T. i, pp. 986-920, 'wliich
MacTarlane docs not seem to have seen.

^^^ 1 \\^

Hermit tiainta. S. Anthony.

January 15.] S. Paul.

215

January 15,

S. Ephysius, M., at Cagliari,

S. P^f L, the Firit Hermit in Egypt, A.D, 141.

S, Macarius or EoYPT, P. and ^b., in Sct'l/, a.d. 391.

S. Isidore, P. and Monk, at Alexandria, a.d. 404.

S. Alexander Ac(emetus, at Contiantinople, circ. a.d. 430.

S. John the Calybite, 5/A cnt.

S. Maurus, jib. of Glanfciiil, '-n France, A.D. 584.

S. Vtha, y., in Ireland, bth cent.

S, BiNiTUS, or B >N, B. of Claremont, beginning of 8th cent,

S. Embf-RT, B. of Camtrai, beginning of 8th cent.

S, Ceolwulf, A', and Monk, in England, 8th cent.

S. PAUL, THE FIRST HERMIT IN EGYPT.
(a.d. 341.)

[S. Paul died on Jan. 10th, on which day he is commemorated in
most ancient Martyrologies, as the Roman, that of Cologne, Bede, &c.
But both Greeks and Latins have transferred his feast to Jan. 15th, so
as not to interfere with the celebration of the Octave of the Epiphany.
The York Breviary and those of Paul III., and of the Dominican Order,
commemorate him on the 29th Jan. His life, written by S. Jerome, is per-
fectly authentic. The following is a translation, much abridged, from the
original.]

|NDER the persecuting Emperors Decius and

Valerius, at the time that CorneHus was Bishop

at Rome, and Cyprian, Bishop at Carthage,

were condemned to shed their blessed blood, a

cruel tempest swept over the Churches in Egypt and tlie

Thebaid.

" In those days, in the Lower Thebaid, was Paul, to whom
had been left a rich inheritance, at the death of both his
parents, mth a sister already married. He was then about
fifteen years old, well taught in Greek and Egyptian litera-
ture, gentle tempered, and loving God much. When the
storm of persecution burst, he withdrew into a distant city.

* ^

2i6 Lives of the Saints. [January ij.

But his sister's husband purposed to betray him, notwith-
standing the tears of his wife j however, the boy discovered
it, and fled into the desert hills. Once there, necessity be-
came a pleasure, and going on, and then stopping awhile, he
reached at last a stony cliff, at the foot of which was a great
cave; its mouth closed with a stone. Having rolled this
away, and exploring more greedily, he saw within a great
vault open to the sky above, but shaded by the spreading
boughs of an ancient date-palm ; and in it a clear spring,
the rill of which, flowing a short space forth, was sucked up
again by the soil.

" There were, besides, not a few dwellings in that cavern-
ous mountain, in which he saw rusty anvils and hammers,
with which coin that had been stamped of old. For this
place was an old workshop for base coin.

"Therefore, in this beloved dweUing, offered him as it
were by God, he spent all his life in prayer and solitude,
while the palm-tree gave him food and clothes.

"When the blessed Paul had been leading the heavenly life
on earth for 113 years, and Antony, ninety years old, was
dwelling in another solitude, this thought (so Antony was
wont to assert) entered his mind — that no monk more per-
fect than himself had settled in the desert. But as he lay
still by night, it was revealed to him that there was another
monk far better than he, to visit whom he must set out. So
when the light broke, the venerable old man, supporting his
weak limbs on a staff, began to go he knew not whither.
And now the mid-day, with the sun roasting above, grew
fierce ; and yet he was not turned from the journey he had
begun, for he said ' I trust in my God, that he will show His
sei-vant that which He has promised.' Antony went on
through that region, seeing only the tracks of wild beasts,
and the wide waste of the desert. What he should do, 01
whither turn, he knew not. A second day had now run by,

HERMIT SAINT.
From a Drawing by A. W'elby Pugin.

Jan. , p. 216.]

[Jan. 15.

January IS.] ^. Paul.

217

One thing remained, to be confident that he could not be
deserted by Christ. All night through he spent a second
darkness in prayer, and while the light was still dim, he saw
afar a she-wolf, panting with heat and thirst, creeping in at
the foot of the mountain. Following her with his eyes, and
drawing nigh to the cave when the beast was gone, he began
to look in : but in vain ; for the darkness stopped his view.
However, as the Scripture saith, perfect love casteth out
fear ; with gentle step and bated breath the cunning explorer
entered, and going fon\^ard slowly, and stopping often,
watched for a sound. At length he saw afar off a light
through the horror of the darkness; then he hastened on
more greedily, struck his foot against a stone, and made a
noise, at which the blessed Paul shut and barred his door,
which had stood open.

" Then Antony, casting himself down before the entrance,
prayed there till the sixth hour, and more, to be let in,
saying, ' Wlio I am, and whence, and why I am come, thou
knowest. I know that I deserve not to see thy face ; yet,
unless I see thee, I mil not return. Thou who receivest
beasts, why repellest thou a man ? I have sought, and I
have found. I knock that it may be opened to me : which
if I wan not, here will I die before thy gate. Surely thou
shalt at least bury my corpse.'

" 'No one begs thus to threaten. No one does injury with
tears. And dost thou wonder why I do not let thee in, see-
ing thou art a mortal guest ?' Thus spake Paul, and then
smiling, he opened the door. They mutually embraced
and saluted each other by name, and committed themselves
in common to the grace of God. And after the holy kiss,
Paul, sitting down with Antony, thus began —

" 'Behold him whom thou hast sought with such labour;
with limbs decayed by age, and covered with unkempt white
hair. Behold, thou seest but a mortal, soon to become dust.

>f<-

2i8 Lives of the Saints. [January ij.

But, because charity bears all things, tell me, I pray thee,
how fares the human race ? whether new houses are rising
in the ancient cities? by what emperor is the world governed?
whether there are any left who are led captive by the deceits
of the devil ?' As they spoke thus, they saw a raven settle
on a bough ; who, flying gently do\\'n, laid, to their wonder,
a whole loaf before them. When he was gone, ' Ah,' said
Paul, ' the Lord truly loving, tiiily merciful, hath sent us a
meal. For sixty years past I have received daily half a loaf,
but, at thy coming, Christ hath doubled his soldiers' allow-
ance.' Then, having thanked God, they sat down on the
brink of the glassy spring.

" But here a contention arising as to which of them should
break the loaf, occupied the day till well-nigh evening. Paul
insisted, as the host ; Antony declined, as the younger man.
At last it was agreed that they should take hold of the loaf
at opposite ends, and each pull towards himself, and keep
what was left in his hand. Next they stooped down, and
drank a little water from the spring ; then, offering to God
the sacrifice of praise, they passed the night watching.

" And when day dawned again, the blessed Paul said to
Antony, ' I knew long since, brother, that thou wert dwell-
ing in these lands; long since God had promised thee to me
as a fellow-servant: but because the time of my falling asleep
is now come, and (because I always longed to depart, and
to be with Christ) there is laid up for me, when I have
finished my course, a crown of righteousness ; therefore thou
art sent from the Lord to cover my corpse with mould, and
give back dust to dust.'

'* Antony, hearing this, prayed him with tears and groans
not to desert him, but take him as his companion on such a
journey. But he said, 'Thou must not seek the things which
are thine o\\ti, but the things of others. It is expedient
for thee, indeed, to cast off the burden of the flesh, and

ij, —>h

January ij.] 6'. PauL 2 19

to follow the Lamb : but it is expedient for the rest of the
brethren that they should be still trained by thine example.
Wherefore go, unless it displeases thee, and bring the cloak
which Athanasius the bishop gave thee, to wrap up my
corpse.' But this the blessed Paul asked, not because he
cared greatly whether his body decayed covered or bare
(for he had long been used to clothe himself with woven
palm leaves), but that Antony's grief at his death might
be lightened when he left him. Antony astounded that
he had heard of Athanasius and his o^m cloak, dared
answer nothing : but keeping in silence, and kissing his
eyes and hands, returned to the monastery. Tired and
breathless, he arrived at home. There two disciples met
him, who had been long sent to minister to him, and
asked him, ' Where hast thou tarried so long, father ?'
He answered, * Woe to me a sinner, who falsely bear
the name of a monk. I have seen Elias ; I have seen
John in the desert; I have truly seen Paul in Paradise;'
and so, closing his lips, and beating his breast, he took the
cloak from his cell, and when his disciples asked him to ex-
plain more fully what had befallen, he said, 'There is a time
to be silent, and a time to speak." Then going out, and
not taking even a morsel of food, he returned by the way he
had come. For he feared — what actually happened — lest
Paul in his absence should render up his soul to Christ.

"And when the second day had shone, and he had retraced
his steps for three hours, he saw amid hosts of angels,
amid the choirs of prophets and apostles, Paul shining
white as snow, ascending up on high. The blessed Antony
used to tell afterwards, how he ran the rest of the way so
swiftly, that he seemed to fly like a bird. Nor without
cause. For entering the cave he saw Paul on bended
knees, erect with hands spread out on high, — a lifeless
corpse. And at first, thinking that it still lived, he

1^ ^

220

Lives of the Saints.

[January 15.

prayed in like wise. But when he heard no sighs come
from the worshipper's breast, he gave him a tearful kiss,
understanding how the very corpse of the Saint was pray-
ing to that God to whom all live.

"So, having wrapped up and carried forth the corpse, and
chanting hymns, Antony grew sad, because he had no spade,
wherewith to dig the ground ; and thinking over many plans
in his mind, said, ' If I go back to the monastery, it is a
three days' journey. If I stay here, I shall be of no more use,
I will die, then, as it is fit ; and, falling beside thy warrior,
O Christ ! breathe my last breath.'

" As he was thinking thus to himself, two lions came nm.
ning from the inner part of the desert:, their manes tossing
on their necks. Seeing these, he shuddered at first : but
then, turning his mind to God, he remained without fear.
They came straight to the corpse of the blessed old man,
and crouched at his feet, wagging their tails, and roaring
with mighty growls, so that Antony understood them to
lament, as best they could. Then they began to claw the
ground with their paws, and, carrying out the sand eagerly,
dug a place large enough to hold a man : then at once, as if
begging a reward for their work, they came to Antony,
drooping their necks, and licking his hands and feet. But
he perceived that they prayed a blessing from him; and at
once, bursting into praise of Christ, because even dumb
animals felt that He was God, he said, ' Lord, without
whose word not a leaf of the tree drops, nor one sparrow
falls to the ground, give to them as thou knowest how to
give.' And, signing to them with his hand, he bade
them go,

" And when they had departed, he bent his aged shoulders
to the weight of the holy corpse ; and laying it in the grave,
heaped earth on it, and raised a mound as is the wont.
And when another dawn shone, lest the pious heir should

JanuarriJ.] 6*. MaCavluS Cf Egypt. 221

not possess aught of the goods of the intestate dead, he
kept for himself the tunic which Paul had woven out of the
leaves of the palm ; and returning to the monastery, told
his disciples all throughout ; and, on the solemn days of
Easier and Pentecost, he always clothed himself in Paul's

tunic."

S. MACARIUS OF EGYPT, AB.

(A.D. 391.)

[Not to be confounded with S. Macarius of Alexandria (Jan. 2nd). This
Macarius is commemorated by the Greeks on Jan. 19th ; by the Roman later
Martyrology on Jan. 15th, but in earlier ones on the same day as the other
Macarius, Jan. 2nd. Authorities for his life are Palladius, in his History
Lausiaca, a thoroughly trustworthy contemporary, Ruffinus, Sozomen,
Socrates, Cassian, &c.]

S. Macarius the Elder was born in Upper Egypt, about
the year 300, and was brought up in Che country to attend
cattle. In his childhood, in company with some others, he
stole some figs and ate one of them ; but from his conversion
to his death, he never ceased bewailing this offence. By a
powerful call of divine grace, he was led to desert the world
in his youth, and to take up his abode in a little cell made
of mats. A wicked woman falsely accused him of having
deflowered her ; for which supposed crime he was dragged
through the streets, beaten and insulted, as a base hypocrite
under the garb of a monk. He suffered all with patience,
and sent the woman what he earned by his work, saying to
himself, "Well, Macarius, having now another to provide
for, you must work all the harder." But the woman, in the
anguish of her travail, confessed that she had maligned him,
and told the real name of her seducer. Then the people
regarded him as a Saint, whom lately they would have slain.
To shun the esteem of men he fled into the desert of Scete',
being then about thirty years of age. In this solitude he

iis-

^ <^

2 22 Lives of the Saints . [January 15.

lived sixty years, and became the spiritual father of innumer-
able holy persons, who put themselves under his direction,
and were governed by the rules he prescribed them ; but
all dwelt in separate hermitages. S. Macarius admitted only
one disciple with him to entertain strangers.

He was compelled by an Egyptian bishop to receive the
order of priesthood, about the year 340, the fortieth of his
age, that he might celebrate the Di\ane Mysteries for the
convenience of his holy colony. When the desert be-
came better peopled, there were fou: churches built in it,
served by as many priests. The austerities of S. Macarius
were very severe. He usually ate but once a week.
Evagrius, his disciple, once asked him leave to drink a
little wat('r, under a parching thirst : but Macarius bade him
be satisfied with reposing a little in the shade, saying, " For
these twenty years I have never eaten, drunk, nor slept as
much as nature demanded." To deny his own will, he did
not refuse to drink a little wine, when others desired him ;
but he would punish himself for this indulgence by abstain-
ing two or three days from all manner of drink ; and it was
for this reason that his disciples desired strangers never to
tender him a drop of wine. He delivered his instructions in
few words, and principally inculcated silence, humility,
mortification and continual prayer, to all sorts of people.
He used to say, "In prayer you need not use many cr
grand words. You can always repeat, Lord, show me
mercy as Thou knowest best; or, Assist me, O Lord !"

His mildness and patience were invincible, and occasioned
the conversion of a heathen priest. A young man applying
to S. Macarius for spiritual advice, he directed him to go to
a burying place and upbraid the dead ; and after that to
go and flatter them. "Well," said Macarius, when the
young man returned, " How did the dead receive thy abuse
of them." "They answered not a word," he replied. " And

►j< 4*

January ij.] S. Macavius of Egypt. 22^

■J

how did they behave when flattered?" "They took
no notice of that either." "Go," said Macarius, "and do
thou likewise."

A monk complained to Macarius that he could fast in the
monastery, but not in solitude. " Ah !" said the abbot,
" thou likest to have people see that thou art fasting. Be-
ware of vainglory."

God revealed to Macarius that two women in the nearest
city excelled him in virtue, in spite of all his fasting, and
tears, and prayer. He took his staff, and left the desert,
and went in quest of them, and lo ! they were two homely
married women, of whom no one talked, but who were
extremely careful not to say spiteful things of their neigh-
bours, who had not the smallest idea that they were saints,
and who laboured night and day to make home pleasant to
their husbands and children.

Lucius, the Arian usurper of the see of Alexandria, who
had expelled Peter, the successor of S. Athanasius, in 376,
sent troops into the deserts, to disperse the zealous monks,
several of whom sealed their faith with their blood. The
chiefs, the two Macarii, Isidore, Pambo, and others, were
banished, by the authority of the Emperor Valens, to a little
isle of Egypt, in the midst of stagnant marshes. The inha-
bitants, who were pagans, were all converted to the faith by
these confessors. The public indignation obliged Lucius to
suffer them to return to their cells.

The Church of God flashes forth some peculiar type of
sanctity at one time, and then another. It is like a rain-drop
in the sun, blazing now crimson, now green, now yellow,
now blue. As there is need, God calls up an army of
Saints, exactly adapted to meet the difficulties of tlie times,
to uphold the truth, and form, as it were, a prop to stay up
his tottering Church. Now it is the martyrs, who by their
constancy conquer the infidels, now it is these hermits of the

224

Lives of the Saints.

[January ij.

Syrian and Egyptian deserts, against whose orthodoxy
Arianism breaks and crumbles to powder. Humanly
speaking, these hermits saved the doctrine of the Godhead
of Christ from being denied, and disappearing from the
creed of the Church. An age like the present, so like the
condition of the Roman world in its highest civilization,
when pleasure and self-will are the sole things sought, and
when Arianism is in power in high places, and the learned
and polished, admitting the excellency of Christianity in
general, allow to Christ only the place of a founder of a
school of religious thought — such an age as this seems one
meet for the revival of the hermit life as a witness for the truth,
and a protest against luxury. This, and this only, as far as
we can judge, will meet the great want of the day ; it is not
preaching that will recover the multitude lapsed into religious
indifference ; it must be the example of men, believing with
such a fiery faith, that they sacrifice everything the world holds
precious, for the sake of the truth that Jesus Christ, the ever-
lasting God, came in the Flesh.

Nothing in the wonderful history of the hermits of Egypt
is so incredible as their number. But the most weighty
authorities agree in establishing it. It was a kind of emi-
gration of to\vns to the desert, of civilization to simplicity,
of noise to silence, of corruption to innocence. The current
once begun, floods of men, of women, and of children threw
themselves into it, and flowed thither during a century, with
resistless force. Let us quote some figures. Pachoniius,
who died at fifty-six, reckoned three thousand monks under
his rule ; his monasteries of Tabenna soon included seven
thousand, and S. Jerome aftirms that as many as fifty
thousand were present at the annual gathering of the general
congregation of monasteries which followed his rule.

There were five thousand on the mountain of Nitria
alone. Nothing was more frequent than to see two hundred,

-»J.

^ — _ ^

January I,-.] S. Mdcarius of Egypt. 225

three hundred, or five hundred monks under the same
abbot. Near Arsinoe (now Suez), the abbot Serapion
governed ten thousand, who, in the harvest time, spread
themselves over the country to cut the com, and thus
gained the means of living and giving alms. It has even
been asserted that there were as many monks in the deserts
of Egypt as inhabitants in the towns. The towns them-
selves were, so to speak, inundated by them, since in 356, a
traveller found in the single town of Oxyrynchus (Abou
Girge) upon the Nile, ten thousand monks and twenty
thousand virgins consecrated to God.^ The immense
majority of these religious were cenobites, that is to say,
they lived in the same enclosure, and were united by com-
mon rule and practice under an elected head, whom they
everywhere called abbot, from the Syriac word abba^ which
means /<z///<?r. The cenobitical life superseded rapidly, and
almost completely, the life of solitaries. Scarcely any man
became a solitary until after having been a cenobite, and
in order to meditate upon God during the last years of his
life. Custom has, therefore, given the tide of monks to
cenobites alone.

Ambitious at once of reducing to subjection their re-
bellious flesh, and of penetrating the secrets of the ce-
lestial light, these cenobites united the active with the
contemplative life. The various and incessant labours
which filled up their days are known. In the great frescoes
of the cemetery of Pisa, they appear in their coarse black
or brown dresses, a cowl upon their shoulders, occupied
in digging up the soil, in cutting down trees, in fishing in
the Nile, in milking the goats, in gathering the dates which
served them for food, in plaiting the mats on which they
were to die. Others are absorbed in reading or meditating

1 For authorities for tliese statements, see Montalembert's Monks of the West,
J.p.315-

VOL. I. 15
y^ ^

226

Lives of the Saints.

[Januray ij.

on the Holy Scriptures. Thus a Saint has said that the cells
united in the desert were like a hive of bees. There each
had in his hands the wax of labour, and in his mouth the
honey of psalms and prayers. The days were divided
between prayer and work. The work was divided between
field labour and the exercise of various trades. There were
among these monks entire colonies of weavers, of carpen-
ters, of curriers, of tailors, and of fullers.^ All the rules of
the patriarchs of the desert made labour obligatory, and the
example of their holy lives gave authority to the rule.
When Macarius of Egypt came to visit the great Antony,
they immediately set to work on their mats together, con-
ferring thus upon things important to souls ; and Antony
was so edified by the zeal of the priest, that he kissed his
hands, saying, " What virtues proceed firom these hands !"

Each monastery was then a great school of labour; it
was also, at the same time, a great school of charity. The
monks practised charity not only among themselves, and
with regard to the poor inhabitants of the neighbouring
countries, but especially in the case of travellers whom the
necessities of commerce called to the banks of the Nile, and
of the numerous pilgrims, wnom their increasing fame drew to
the desert. A more generous hospitality had never been
exercised, nor had the universal mercy, introduced by
Christianity into the world, blossomed anywhere to such an
extent. A thousand incidents in their history reveal the
most tender solicitude for the miseries of the poor. The
Xenodochium — that is, the asylum for the poor and strangers
— formed from that time a necessary appendix to every
monastery. The most ingenious combinations, and the
most gracious inspirations of charity are to be found in this
history. A certain monastery served as an hospital for sick
children ; another was transformed by its founder into an

1 S. Jerome, Proef. in Reg. S. Pachomii, S 6.

»J<-

— *

>J< — — ^

January ij.] 6^. Macavius of Egypt. 227

hospital for lepers and cripples. " Behold," said he, in
shewing to the ladies of Alexandria the upper floor which
was reserved for women, " behold my jacinths." Then con-
ducting them to the floor below, were the men were placed,
" See my emeralds."

They were hard only upon themselves. Under a burning
sky, in a climate which has always seemed the cause, or the
excuse of vice, in a country given up at all times to every
kind of luxury and depravity, there were thousands of men
who, during two centuries, interdicted themselves from the
very shadow of a sensual gratification, and made of the most
rigorous mortification a rule as universal as a second nature.

It was their rule also to cultivate the mind by the study
of sacred literature. The rule of S. Pachomius made the
reading of divers portions of the Bible a strict obligation.
All the monks, besides, were required to be able to read
and write. To qualify themselves for reading the Scriptures
was the first duty imposed upon the novices.

When, towards evening, at the hour of vespers, after a
day of stifling heat, all work ceased, and from the midst of
the sands, from the depths of caverns, from pagan temples
cleared of their idols, and from all the vast tombs of a
people dead, now occupied by these men dead to the
world, the cry of a living people rose to heaven ; when
everywhere, and all at once, the air vibrated with hymns,
prayers, and the pious and solemn, tender and joyous songs
of these champions of the soul and conquerors of the
desert, who celebrated, in the language of David, the praises
of the living God, the thanksgivings of the freed soul, and
the homage of vanquished passions, — then the traveller,
the pilgrim, and especially the new convert stood still, lost
in emotion, and transported with the sounds of that sub-
lime concert, cried aloud, " Behold, this is Paradise."^

1 E'allad. Hist. I.ausiaca, c. J.

228

Lives of the Samts.

[January is.

"Go," said the most eloquent doctor of the Church at
that period ; " go to the Thebaid ; you will find there a
solitude still more beautiful than Paradise, a thousand
choirs of angels under human form, nations of martyrs,
armies of virgins, the diabolical tyrant chained, and Christ
triumphant and glorified."^

S. ISIDORE, P. AND MONK IN ALEXANDRIA.

(a.d. 404-)

[Almost all the ancient Martyrologies commemorate S. Isidore on the
same day as S. Macaiius the Elder. Authorities for his life, same as for
S. Macarius.]

S. Isidore, priest and monk, lived in Alexandria as
hospitaller, that is, in charge of a hospital for the reception
of strangers and the poor. He suffered many persecutions,
first from Lucius, the Arian Bishop, who ill-treated the two
Macarii, and afterwards from the orthodox bishop, Theo-
philus, who, moved by some jealousy, unjustly charged him
with favouring the views of Origen. He took refuge at
Constantinople with S. John Chrysostom, where he repu-
diated the heresy of Origen, declaring that he was falsely
accused of holding it, and died in 404.

S. ALEXANDER, OF THE SLEEPLESS ONES,
MONK AT ALEXANDRIA.

(about a.d. 430.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menasa. The life of S. Alexander,
written by a disciple of his, exists in Greek. From this the following
epitome is taken.]

S. Alexander was of Asiatic origin, and was educated at
Constantinople, where he entered the army, and was

1 S. John Chrysostom, in Matt., horn. VIII. The above account of the life of the
monks in Egypt is by the eloquent pen of the Count de Montalembert.

►I- — ^

January li.] S. Alexaudcr. 229

advanced to the office of eparchus, or proctor. Being a
studious reader of the Old and New Testament, he often
mused on the words of Christ, " If thou wilt be perfect, go
and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven ; and come, follow Me." (Matt
XLx. 21).

Then, moved by these words, he resolved to obey the
command, and he sold his possessions and made distribu-
tion unto those that had need ; and hastening away, into the
solitudes of Syria, he became a monk for seven years.

After that, inflamed with zeal against idolatry, he went
into the nearest city, which was Edessa, on a solemn festival
of the heathen gods, and set fire to the temple. He was at
once seized and brought before the governor, Rabbulus, who
remanded him till the rage of the populace should be abated,
and he could be judged with calmness and equity.

Rabbulus often sent for Alexander out of prison, and
heard him gladly. And Alexander unfolded to him the
doctrine of Christ and the great power of God. And as he
expounded to him the Scriptures, he related the wondrous
works of Elijah, how that he had prayed, and God had A\ith-
held the rain three years, and at his prayer had again brought
a cloud and abundance of rain upon the earth, and also how
he had cried, and God had sent fire from heaven to consume
his sacrifice. Then, hearing this, Rabbulus said, " Nay !
thou speakest of marvels. If the God of whom thou tellest
wrought those wonders then. He can work them now. Cry
tmto Him to send fire on earth, that I may see and
beheve."

Instantly, filled with confidence, the holy man, Alexander,
turned to the East and spread forth his hands, and prayed •.
then there fell fire from heaven, and consumed the mats
that were laid upon the ground, but hurt nothing else. And
the Governor bowed his head, and said, " The Lord He is

* •

230

Lives of the Saints.

[January' ij.

God, the Lord He is God !" Then he was baptized,^ he
and all his house, and he suffered Alexander to go forth to
the people, and in their audience plead for the cause of
Christ against their false gods. So they hastened and
destroyed their images, and multitudes were added to the
Church. And after that Alexander went away into the
desert, where he heard there was a band of robbers, desiring
to save their souls, as Jesus on the Cross had saved the
thief So the robbers took him, and he exhorted them, and
spake the Word to them, and they believed, they and their
chief, so that he taiTied some while with them — they were
thirty in number — and he baptized them. But the robber-
chief, as he was being baptized, prayed in secret. Then said
Alexander, " I saw thy lips move. What was thy petition ?"
And he answered, " I have been a great sinner, and I fear
my old habits of evil resuming the mastery. I prayed God,
if it were His will, to let His serv'ant depart in peace, now
that mine eyes have seen salvation." The prayer was heard,
and the captain died within eight days, whilst still in the
white dress he wore for his baptism. But Alexander
remained with the robbers, and turned their den into a
monastery, and converted the robbers into monks, and they
served God in fasting and prayer. Now when he saw that
they were established firmly in the course of penitence, he
appointed one of them to be their abbot, and he went his
way into Mesopotamia, and founded a monastery on the
Euphrates, where he dwelt twenty years, and had very many
monks under him. And after that he visited Antioch,
Palmyra, and other cities, taking with him one hundred and
fifty of his monks, that they might preach the Gospel to those
who were yet in heathen darkness. The people of Palmyra
sliut their gates against him, saying that such a host of
monks would devour all the produce in the market. Then

' Rabbulus was afterwards consecrated Bishop of Edessa.

->5

January 15.] .S. Alexcmder. 231

Alexander and his brethren halted outside the city for three
days, and the heathen people around brought them food,
which they accepted with thanks. After that Alexander
took the Book of the Gospels, and stood in the way, and
cried : " Glory be to God in the Highest, and on earth
peace, goodwill towards men." This was the signal of
departure, so the whole moving monastery deserted their
camp and went towards Antioch, where the brother of
Alexander, Peter by name, was superior of a large monas-
tery. Alexander and one companion went to the gate and
knocked. Then the porter looked forth, and said, "Wait
without, till I go to the abbot, and ask permission for you
to enter and refresh yourselves." But Alexander thrust in
on the heels of the porter, and went after him to the abbot's
chamber, and there Peter knew him, and cast himself on
his neck. But Alexander said, " Our father Abraham went
forth himself to receive strangers, and invited them in, and
our Lord Jesus Christ exhorted his followers to show glad
hospitality, but thou lettest a wayfaring man stand ^vithout,
and makest a favour of admitting him !" Then he turned,
and went away in a rage, and would not eat in the mon-
astery of his brother. And when they would enter into
Antioch, the bishop, Theodotus, being prejudiced against
Alexander, ordered that he and his monks should be refused
admission. So they sat down all day in the heat outside,
but rising up to sing their psalms at midnight, they all went
forward chanting, and no man stayed them, through the
streets of Antioch, and they found an old bath-house, and
lodged there. Then the Bishop feared to disturb them, for
all the people magnified them. There they stayed some
time and erected a large hospital, where they cherished the
sick and the poor.

But one Malchus, a sub-deacon, who was greatly offended
with the monks, went to the Bishop, and urged that they

^ ^

232

Lives of the Sai7its.

[January ij.

should be expelled. And when he had been given license,
he went with all the church sextons and drove the monks
from their lodgings, and he boxed Alexander on the ear,
saying, " Go forth, thou rascal !" But Alexander said
nothing, save that he quoted the words of S. John, " The
servant's name was Malchus." (xviii. lo.) Then the Gover-
nor of the city, finding that the people would take part with
the monks, and that a tumult would be made, came with
force, and drave the brethren without the walls. So Alex-
ander and his monks swarmed off to the Crithenian mon-
astery, which he had founded, and there he saw that the
discipline was admirable.

Thence he went to Constantinople, taking with him from
Crithene twenty-four monks, and in all he was now followed
by three hundred, and they were Greeks, and Romans, and
Syrians, and he settled them at Gomon, on the Bosphorus,
near Constantinople, and divided them into six choirs, wlio
sliould alternately sing the divine ofiice, so that ceaselessly,
night and day, the praises of Christ might ascend. Thence
his order was called the Acoemeti, or the Sleepless Ones, for,
in it, some were ever watching for the coming of the Bride-
groom. However, even in Constantinople, he was not left
in peace, but the civil powers interfered and broke up the
monastery, and the monks were imprisoned and beaten, and
ill-treated in divers ways, so that, for a while, the incessant
song was interrupted. But when the persecution was over,
the monks flowed together again, and the sleepless vigil re-
commenced.

S. Alexander died and was buried at Gomon,

-hH

1^-

lanuary i^j 5'. J oku tkc Calyblte. 233

S. JOHN IHE CALYBITE, H.
(about 450.)

[Commemorated on the same day by Greeks and Latins. Some old
Western Martyrologies honoured him on Feb. 27th. Authority, his life by
Simeon Logotheta.']

S. John the Calybite is the Eastern counterpart of the
Western S. Alexis. At an early age he met a monk of the
Sleepless Ones, founded by S. Alexander, as mentioned in
the immediately preceding life ; and he was so struck ■with
what he heard of the religious life, that he desired to enter
it. Returning home, he asked his parents, who were wealthy,
to make him a present of the Holy Gospels. They, sur-
prised that the boy desired a book, instead of some article
of dress or of play, purchased him a handsomely illuminated
and illustrated book of the Gospels. The boy read, " He
that loveth father and mother more than me, is not worthy
of me." Then he ran away from home, and made his way
to Gomon, where he entered the Sleepless order. The
archimandrite, or abbot, tliinking him too young, objected
to receive him, but when the boy persisted, he made him
undergo the discipline of the monks. He remained there,
however, six years, and then a longing came over him to see
his father and mother again ; so he told the superior, who
said, " Did I not say to thee, thou art too young. Go in
peace to thy home. * So John left the monastery. But re-
turning home, he did not make himself kno\\Ti to his parents,
but, changing clothes with a beggar, he crouched at the gate
of his father's house and begged. Then his father gave him
daily food from his kitchen ; but after a while his mother,

' BoUandiis gives two lives; one is authentic, the other is not. The first states
that he lived at Constantinople, from which he escaped to Gomon, threescore fur-
longs from the city, by water. The second, mistaking new Rome for old Rome,
makes him voyage from Italy to Bithynia.

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234

Lives of the Samts.

[January ij.

disliking the presence of a squalid beggar at the door, bade
the servants remove him to a little cot, and thence he took
his name of Calybite, or Cotter. Three years after, as he
was dying, he sent for his mother, and revealed himself to
her.

He was buried beneath the hut, and his parents built a
church over his tomb.

Relics, in the church dedicated to him at Rome 3 his
head at Besangon, in the church of S. Stephen.

S. MAURUS, AB. OF GLANFEUIL.
(a.d. 584.)

[The life of S. Maums, professing to be by S. Faustus, is not of the
date it pretends to. It was written by Odo of Glanfeuil (d. 868); it is,
however, probable that he used a previous composition of S. Faustus, monk
of Cassino (d. 620), amplifying and altering in style. Other authorities
are S. Gregory the Great, Dialog. II., and a metrical life, falsely attributed
to Paulus Diaconus.]

A NOBLEMAN, named Eguitius, gave his httle son Maurus,
aged twelve, to the holy patriarch Benedict, to be by him
educated. The youth surpassed all his fellow monks in the
discharge of his monastic duties, and when he was grown up,
S. Benedict made him his coadjutor in the government of
Subiaco. Placidus, a fellow-monk, going one day to fetch
water, fell into the lake, and was carried about a bow-^hot
from the bank. S. Benedict seeing this from his cell, sent
Maurus to run and draw him out. Maurus obeyed, walked
upon the water, without perceiving it, and pulled out
Placidus by the hair, without himself sinking.

The fame of Benedict and his work had not been slow to
cross the frontiers of Italy ; it resounded especially in Gaul.
A year before the death of the patriarch, two envoys arrived

January 15.] S. MaUVUS. 235

at Monte Cassino, from Innocent, Bishop of Mans, who,
not content with forty monasteries which had arisen during
his episcopate in the country over which he ruled, still
desired to see his diocese enriched by a colony formed by
the disciples of the new head and law-giver of the cenobites
in Italy. Benedict confided this mission to the dearest and
most fervent of his disciples, the young deacon Maurus.
He gave him four companions, one of whom, Faustus, is
the supposed author of the history of the mission ; and
bestowed on him a copy of the rule, written with his own
hand, together with the weights for the bread, and the
measure for the wine, which should be allotted to each monk
every day, to serve as unchanging types of that abstinence
which was to be one of the strongest points of the new
institution.

At the head of this handful of missionaries, who went to
sow afar the seed destined to produce so great a harvest,
Maurus came down from Monte Cassino, crossed Italy and
the Alps, paused beneath the precipices which overhang the
monastery of Agaunum now S. Maurice in the Valais,
beside the foaming Rhone, which the Burgundian king,
Sigisraund, had just raised over the relics of the Theban
Legion ; then went into the Jura to visit the colonies oi
Condate. Arrived upon the banks of the Loire, and re-
pulsed by the successor of the Bishop who had called him,
he stopped in Anjou, which was then governed by a vis-
count called Florus, in the name of Theodebert, King of
Austrasia. This viscount offered one of his estates to the
disciple of Benedict, that he might establish his colony
there, besides giving one of his sons to become a monk,
and announcing his own intention of consecrating himself
to God. On this estate, bathed by tlie waters of the Loire,
Maurus founded the monastery of Gknfeuil, which aftenvards
took his own name. The site of this monastery, now lost

236 Lives of the Saints. [January ij.

among the vineyards of Anjou, merits the grateful glance
of every traveller who is not insensible to the advantages
which flowed from that first Benedictine colony over the
whole of France.

The beloved son of S. Benedict spent forty years at the
head of his French colony ; he saw as many as a hundred
and forty monks officiate there \ and when he died, after
having lived apart for two years in an isolated cell, to pre-
pare himself in silence for appearing before God, he had
dropped into the soil of Gaul, a germ which could neither
perish nor be exhausted.

In art, S. Maums is represented holding the weights and
measures given him by S. Benedict.

S. CEOLWULF, K., MONK.

(a.d. 767.)

[Old Engli!-h Martyrologies on March 14th ; later ones on this day, on
which he is commemorated in the R(;)ni:in Calendar. Authorities : Bede,
Florence of Worcester, William of Malmesbury, Henry Huntingdon,
.Simeon of Durham, &c.]

Bede dedicated his "History of the English" to Ceol-
wulf. King of Northumbria, whose tender solicitude for
monastic interests made the monk of Jarrow look to him as
a patron. Ceoh\ailf was of the race of Ida the Burner ;
after two obscure reigns, Ceolwulf was called to the throne,
and vainly attempted to struggle against the disorder and
decay of his country. He was vanquished and made
captive by enemies whose names are not recorded, and was
shut up in a convent. He escaped, however, regained the
crown, and reigned for some time in a manner which
gained the applause of Bede. But after a reign of eight
years, a regret, or an unconquerable desire for that mon-

* — -ij«

January 15.]

S. Ceolwulf.

237

astic life which had been formerly forced upon him against
his will, seized him. He made the best provisions possible
for the security of his country, and for a good understand-
ing between the spiritual and temporal authorities, nominat-
ing as his successor a worthy prince of his race. Then,
giving up the cares of power, and showing himself truly the
master of the wealth he resigned, he cut his long beard, had
his head shaved in the form of a crown, and retired to bury
himself anew in the holy island of Lindisfame, in the
monastery beaten by the winds and waves of the northern
sea. There he passed the last thirty years of his life in
study and happiness. He had, while king, enriched this
monastery with many great gifts, and obtained permission
for the use of wine and beer for the monks, who, up to that
time, according to the rigid rule of ancient Keltic disci-
pline, had been allowed no beverage but water and milk.

•i*-

238

Lives of the Saints.

[ January 16.

January 16.

S. Pkiscilla, Matron, at Rome, ist cent.

S. Marcellus, PoJ>e, M., at Rome, circ. a.d. 309.

S. Melas, B. C, at Rhinoclusa, i,th cent.

S. HoNORATUS, B. C, of Aries, circ. a.d. 430.

S. James, B. C, of the Taraittaise, ^th cent.

S. Valerius, B. C, of Sorrente, circ. a.d. 600.

S. Tatian, B. C, at Underzo, in Italy, Tth cent.

S. FuRSEY, Ab., in France, circ. A.D. 653.

S. TossA, B. C, of Augsburg, a.d. 661.

S. Henry, H., in Northumberland, a.d. 1127.

SS. Franciscan Martyrs, in Mauritania, a.d. 1220.

S. PRISCILLA, MATRON, AT ROME.

(iST CKNT.)

[Roman Martyrology. This Priscilla is not to be conlounded with the
wife of Aquila (Acts xviii. 26.) She was the mother of S. Pudens (2 Tim.
iv. 21), who was the father of SS. Praxedes and Pudentiana, the guests and
disciples of S. Peter. Nothing more is known of h. r.]

S. MARCELLUS, POPE, M.
(about a.d. 309.)

[The Greeks have confounded Marcellus with his predecessor, Marcel-
linus, who is commemorated on April 26th. Roman Martyrology, that of
Bede, Ado, Notker, &c. The Acts are not to be trusted.]

AINT MARCELLUS succeeded Pope Marcel-
linus, in 308, after the see had been vacant for
three years and a half An epitaph written on
him by Pope Damasus, says that by enforcing
the penitential canons, he drew on himself the hostility of
lukewarm Christians. For his severity to an apostate he
was exiled by the tyrant Maxentius.

January i6.] ^Sl M claS. 239

Relics, in the church of S. Marcellus at Roine ; also at
Mons and Namur, in Belgium.

S. MELAS, B. C. OF RHINOCLUSA.

(4TH CENT.)
[Roman and German Martyrologies. Authority for his life, Sozomen.]

Rhinoclusa, or Rinocorurus, was near the river of
Egypt, dividing Egypt from Palestine; of this city and
monastic settlement S. Melas was Bishop. Sozomen, in his
Ecclesiastical History, gives the following account of him
(lib. vi. c. 31): —

" Rinocorurus was celebrated at this period, on account
of the holy men who were bom and flourished there. I
have heard that the most eminent among them were Melas,
the Bishop of the country ; Denis and Solon, the brothers
and successors of Melas. When the decree went forth for
the ejection of all bishops opposed to Arianism, the officers
appointed to execute the mandate found Melas engaged in
trimming the lights of the church, and clad in an old cloak
soiled with oil, fastened by a girdle. When they asked him
for the Bishop, he replied that he was within, and that he
would conduct them to him. As they were fatigued with
their journey, he led them to the episcopal dwelling, made
them sit down at his table, and placed before them such
things as he had. After the repast, he supplied them with
water to wash their hands, and then told them who he was.
Amazed at his conduct, they confessed the mission on which
they had arrived ; but, from respect to him, gave him full
liberty to go wherever he would. He, however, replied
that he would not shrink from the sufferings to which the
other bishops, who maintained the same sentiments as him-

>j<— ^ >j,

*i<-

->^

240

Lives of the Saints.

[January 16.

self, were exposed, and that he was ready to go into exile.
He had been accustomed, from his youth up, to practise all
the virtues of asceticism. The Church of Rinocorurus,
having been thus, from the beginning, under the guidance
of such exemplary bishops, never afterwards swerved from
their doctrine. The clergy of this Church dwell in one
house, sit at the same table, and have all things in
common."

S. HONORATUS, B. OF ARLES.
(about a.d. 430.)

[Honoratus, in French Honord, is commemorated in almost all the
Western Kalendars. His life by his kinsman and successor, S. Hilary.
Another life of him is apocryphal. " A tissue,'" says BoUandus, " of fables
and crazes;'' "which," says Baronius, " cannot be read without nausea,
except by those with iron stomachs, and wits covered with the rust of
ignorance." This life, therefore, must be completely put aside, as worth-
less, and we must draw all our information from that by S. Hilary, Bishop
of Aries.]

The sailor who proceeds from the roadstead of Toulon
towards Italy or the East, passes among two or three
islands, rocky and dry, surmounted here and there by a
slender cluster of pines. He looks at them with indiffer-
ence, and avoids them. However, one of these islands has
been, for the soul and for the mind, a centre purer and more
fertile than any famous isle of the Greek sea. It is Lerins,
formerly occupied by a city, which was already ruined in
the time of Pliny, and where, at the commencement of the
fifth century, nothing more was to be seen than a desert
coast, rendered unapproachable by the number of serpents
which swarmed there.

In 410 a man landed and remained there ; he was called
Honoratus. Descended from a consular race, educated

S. HONORE. After Cahier.

Jan., p. 240.]

[Jan. 16.

ti<-

January :0.] S. HoUOratUS, 2/\.l

and eloquent, but devoted from his youth to great piety ; he
desired to be made a monk. His father charged his eldest
brother, a gay and impetuous young man, to turn him from
the ascetic life ; but, on the contrary, it was he who gained
his brother. After many difficulties, he at last found repose
at Lerins; the seq^ents yielded the place to him; a multitude
of disciples gathered round him. A community of austere
monks and indefatigable labourers was formed there. The
face of the isle was changed, the desert became a paradise;
a country bordered with deep woods, watered by streams,
rich with verdure, enamelled with flowers, revealed the fer-
tilizing presence of a new race. Honoratus, whose fine face
was radiant with a sweet and attractive majesty,^ opened the
arms of his love to the sons of all countries who dtsired to
love Christ. A multitude of disciples of all nations joined
him.

There is, perhaps, nothing more touching in monastic
annals than the picture traced by S. Hilary, one of the most
illustrious sons of Lerins, of the paternal tenderness of
Honoratus for the numerous family of monks whom he
had collected round him. He could reach the depths of
their souls to discover all their griefs. He neglected no
effort to banish every sadness, every painful recollection of
the world. He watched their sleep, their health, their food,
their labours, that each might serve God according to the
measure of his strength. Thus he inspired them with a
love more thsn filial. *' In him," they said, "we find not
only a father, but an entire family, a country, the whole
world." "UTien he wrote to any of those who were absent,
they said, on receiving his letter, written according to the
usage of the time, upon tablets of wax, " It is honey
which he has poured back into that wax, honey drawn from
the inexhaustible sweetness of his heart."

• S. Eucher, De laude Ereini, p. 343.

VOL. I. 16
^ ^

242

Lives of the Saints.

[January 16.

In that island paradise, and under the care of such a
shepherd, the perfume of Ufe breathed every-vvhere. These
monks, who had sought happiness by renouncing secular
life, felt and proclaimed that they had found it ; to see their
serene and modest joy, their union, their gentleness, and
their finn hope, one would have believed one's self, says
S. Eucher, in the presence of a battalion of angels at rest.^
How S. Honoratus converted S. Hilary by his prayers, as
told by S. Hilary himself, shall be related when we speak
of that Saint. Honoratus was, by compulsion, made to
assume the direction of the see of Aries, and was conse-
crated Bishop in 426. He died in the arms of S. Hilary,
who succeeded him in 429.

Relics, at S. Honore, formerly Lerins.

In art, he appears expelling serpents from the isle with
his staff.

S. JAMES, B. OF THE TARANTAISE.

(5TH CENT.)

[Authority for his hfe, a fragme.itary life of uncertain date, published by
BoUandus.]

James, of Asiatic origin, and a soldier, was one of the
first disciples of S. Honoratus in his monastic settlement at
Lerins. \Vlien S. Honoratus was appointed Archbishop of
Aries, he called James to be the first Bishop of the Taran-
taise, the valleys of the Is^re and Arc, of which Moutiers
is the modern capital, between the Graian and Pennine
Alps. S. James made Centronum, or Moutiers, the seat
of the bishopric, and there he laboured to convert the
people still buried in heathenism. Of him is related a story
very similar to that told of other Saints, viz., that as his

1 So far Montalembert's Monks of the Vv'est, Vol. 1., Book HI.

^ _ ^

January i6.] 6'. Fu7'Sey. 243

monks were cutting down trees in the forest, for the con-
struction of his cathedral church, a bear killed one of the
oxen which drew the timber. Then the monks fled in con-
sternation to S. James, who went boldly to the bear and
said, "I, James, the servant of Christ, command thee, cruel
beast, to bow thy stubborn neck to the yoke, in place of
the ox thou hast slain." Then the bear was obedient, and
drew the timber to the church.

S. James is also said to have taken an ass's load of pure
snow of the mountain in mid-summer, as a tribute to
Gondecar, King of the Burgundians, having nothing else to
offer, when the king had ordered a tax to be levied on
all the produce of the land.

S. FURSEY, AB.

(about A.D. 653.)

[Roman, Donegal, and Scottish Martyrologies, but English on March
4th ; Feb. 25th is noted in several Kalendars as the festival of the trans-
lation of his relics, also Sept. 28. A very ancient life of S. Fursey, of
the date of Bede, exists ; later and more prolix lives exist, but are of
less authority. Bede himself relates the principal events of the life of
this Saint in his history, and quotes the above-mentioned life, lib. iii.
c. 19.]

Fursey, son of Fintan, an Irish prince, was abbot of a
monastery in the diocese of Tuam. Afterwards, travelling
with two of his brothers, Fullan and Ultan, through Eng-
land, he entered the province of Essex, and was honourably
received by the kmg, Sigebert, " and performing his usual
employment of preaching the Gospel," says Bede, " by the
example of his virtue, and the efficacy of his discourse, he
converted many unbelievers to Christ, and confirmed in
faith and love those that already believed. Here he fell
into some infirmity of body, and was thought worthy to see

,j,_

-»i<

244

Lives of the Saints.

[January 16.

a vision from God ; in which he was admonished dihgently
to proceed in the ministry of the Word, and indefatigably to
continue his usual vigils and prayers. Being confirmed by
this vision, he applied himself with all speed to build a
monastery on the ground which had been given him by
King Sigebert, and to establish regular discipline therein.
The monastery was pleasantly situated in the woods, and
with the sea not far off; it was built within the area of
a castle called Cnobheresburg (Burghcastle, in Suffolk.)
There, falling sick, he fell into a trance, and quitting his
body from evening till cock-crow, he was found worthy to
behold the choirs of angels, and to hear the praises which
are sung in heaven."

The abbot Fursey, becoming desirous of ridding himself
of all business of this world, quitted his monastery, having
first confided the care of it to his brother Fullan ; and
resolved to end his life as a hermit. He repaired to his
brother Ultan, who had already adopted the life of a
solitary, and lived a whole year with him in prayer and
hard labour.

Afterwards, the province being desolated by war, he
crossed the sea to France, and was there honourably enter-
tained by Clovis, King of the Franks, and then by the noble
Erconwald. He built a monastery at Lagny, about six
miles north of Paris, on the Mame, and falling sick not
long after, departed this life.

Erconwald took his body, and deposited it in the porch
of a church he was building in his town of Peronne, till
the church itself should be dedicated. This happened
twenty-seven days after, and the body being taken from tlie
porch to be re-buried, near the altar, was found as entire as
if he had but just died.

Fursey in French is Fourcy, and in Flemish Fro.

Patron of Lagny and Peronne.

January i6.] 6". Henry . 2\^

Relics, at Peronne.

In art, (i), with oxen at his feet, because his body was
placed on a wagon, and the oxen allowed to conduct it
without guide, and they went to Peronne ; or (2), making a
fountain spring up at Lagny, by thrusting his staff into the
soil ; or beholding a vision, (3), of angels, or (4), of the
flames of purgatory and hell, in reference to his remarkable
vision.i

S. HENRY, H. IN NORTHUMBERLAND.
(a.d. 1127.)

[English Martyrologies. His life in Capgrave.]

S. Henry was of Danish origin. Leaving his parents
and wife, he resolved to serve God in solitude, and escaped
to Coquet Island, off the coast of Northumberland. His
relatives came after him, urging him to return to his home ;
then, in an agony of doubt, he cast himself before his
crucifix, and implored God to reveal to him what was His
will. Then it seemed to him that the Saviour said to him,
" Abide here, play the man, and strengthen thine heart to
resist. I have called thee in mine eternal purpose."

So he remained, and laboured in the islet, and a few
brethren joined him, but lived in separate cells. And when
he died, they heard the bell of his little hovel ring violently,
so they ran, and found him dead, with the bell rope in his
hand, and the candle by his side was alight.

His body was taken to Tynemouth, and was buried in
the church of the Blessed Virgin, near that of S. OsAvin.

1 There is not space to give an account of S. Fursey's vision, which seems to
have been the original of Dante's Divina Commedia.

246 Lives of the Sauits. uanuaiy 17.

January 17.

SS. Brethren, Speusippus, Rleusippi-s, INIei eusippus, and Companions,

MM. in Ca/>padocia.
S. Genui.ph, B. ?« FrancCy yd ceitt.
S. Anton V the Great, >4^. in Egypt, ad. 356.
S. Sabine, B. of Piacenza, in Italy, i,th cent.
S. Ni NN, Ab. in Ulster, Ireland, 6th cent.
S. SuLpicius, B. 0/ Bourges, in Fratue, circ. a.d. 6.(7.
S. MlLiiGYTHA, v. in Kent, circ. A.D. 730.
S. RiCMER, Ab. at Le Mans, in France, circ. ad. 700.

SS. SPEUSIPPUS, ELEUSIPPUS, MELEUSIPPUS,
LEONILLA, JONILLA, NEO AND TURBO,
MM.

(date uncertain.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menasa. The relics of these Saints
having been moved to Langres, in France, they are sometimes called
Martyrs of Langres, and are supposed to have suffered there ; but this is
a mistake. A copy of the Acts of their martyrdom was sent from Langres
by one Varnahair to S. Ceraunus, Bishop of Paris, in the beginning of
the 7th century. The original Acts are said to have been written by
SS. Neo and Turbo, but they have not come down to us without manifest
corruption and interpolation.]

[PEUSIPPUS, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus were
three sons at a birth of a beheving mother and a
heathen father. They were instructed in the
Christian faith by their aunt, Leonilla, and then,
in boyish enthusiasm, they rushed from her knee, where they
had been taught, to demolish the idols in the temples of the
city they inhabited. They were taken and burnt in one pyre,
and received the baptism of blood. Jonilla, a woman stand-
ing by, with her little babe in her arms, cried out, " I also
am a Christian, I believe in Christ, my God and my King."
Then the judge ordered her hands to be bound behind her
back, and that she should be hung by her hair. Her hus-

i<- •*

^^-

January 17.]

6^. Gemilph.

247

band, horrified at the sentence, implored her to save her life
for his sake and that of the babe ; but she answered, " Tme,
that I gave life to this dear Httle one, but it is true also that I
owe my life to God, and I cannot set God after my child."
Leonilla, the aunt of the brothers, was executed. Then Neo,
who wi-ote these Acts, closing his tablets, in which he
had inscribed what had taken place, gave them to his col-
league, Turbo, and ran to the image of Nemesis, and cast it
down, and stamped on the marble fragments. And when
the guardians of the temple saw this, they seized him and
beat and stoned him till he yielded up his soul to God.
" Turbo also, who wrote the victories of these confessors, not
long afterwards suffered martyrdom." With these words the
Acts close.

These saintly brothers are called in France Les SS.
yatimes, that is to say Gemelli, for Tergemini ; sometimes
Geaumes.

S. GENULPH, B. C.

(3RD CENT.)

[Commemorated on this day at Cahors, of which diocese he is regarded
as the Apostle and first Bishop. He is however mentioned v.\ several Mar-
tyrologies as Bishop of Bourges. It is probable that he was a missionary
Bishop without settled see. Called in the Roman Martyrology, June 17th,
Gundulph; same day and name the same in the Bourges Breviary, that being
the day of his translation, Jan. 17th, of his death. His life was written by
S. Sebastus, three years after the death of S. Genulph, but this has not
come down to us in its original form. It has, however, doubtless formed
the basis of a life written about A.d. 910, published by Bollandus.]

Genitus and his wife, Aclia, were pious Christians at
Rome, serving God constantly, night and day, and hapjty
in one another's love. But one thing they lacked which
grieved them sore, they had no child. Having asked

>b-

* *

248 Lives of the SamtS. [January 17.

God to look upon them and give them a son, He heard
their prayer, and the wife of Genitus brought forth a man-
cliild, and they called him Genulph, or Gundulph. At the
age of five, the parents gave him to S. Sixtus, Bishop of
Rome, to educate him in the knowledge and love of God.
On the breaking out of the Decian persecution, S. Sixtus
ordained Genulph bishop, bade him and his father go into
Gaul, and preach the Gospel there. S. Genulph ever wore
a garment of camel's hair, " except when he celebrated the
Holy Mysteries, when he was arrayed in soft linen, and such
other shining vestments as pertain to so great a mystery.
But when the mystery was celebrated, he put on him again
the rough garb."^ Having entered the territory of the
Cadurci, now called Cahors, he preached the word of God
vehemently, and wrought many miracles of healing. Then he
and his father were denounced to the Governor, and were
beaten and scorched with fire, but remained constant to
the faith, witnessing a good profession, so that the Governor
marvelled, and questioned them about their faith, and so
was brought to a knowledge of the truth ; and he released
the confessors from prison, and they preached boldly, and
multitudes came and were baptized ; so mightily grew the
word of God and prevailed. And afterwards he left Cahors,
and went north, till he came to the country of the Bituriges,
or Berry, and there he took up his residence in a haunted
cell, which all the people of the neighbourhood avoided,
through fear. But Genulph sprinkled it with holy water,
and signed himself with the cross, and boldly took up his
residence therein, nor was he troubled by evil spirits.
Living in this cell, he laboured diligently with his hands,
cultivating the soil, and keeping very many cocks and
hens. The fame of his sanctity drew others to him, and
he became the head of a community. Also many sick

1 Vita, ex duobus veteribus MSS., BoUand. II. p. 83
* ■ ^

^ ^

January ly.] ^. AflfOfiy. 249

came there to be nursed, and the peasants to be instructed.
Then Genulph fed them with the eggs, and with the hens,
which he killed and roasted. One day a fox came, and
carried off a hen. Hearing the noise in the poultry yard,
Genulph ran out, and saw the fox stealing away with his
prey. Then he cried, " Reynard I that hen is not thine.
Wlierefore dost thou rob the poor brothers, who have not
injured thee ?" And the fox let go the hen unhurt.

When he was dying, he exhorted the brethren to wrap
him in sackcloth and bury him outside the church, " for
it seemed to him unfitting that the prey of worms and cor-
ruption should be placed within the holy tabernacle."

S. ANTONY THE GREAT, AB.

(a.p. 356.)

[S. Antony is famous in the East as in the West, and is named in all
Kalendars. His life was written by S. Athanasius, and is quite genuine.
S. Antony is also spoken of at length by Sozomen, Socrates, S. Jerome,
RuflSnus, Theodoret, Evagrius, &c. The following account is a condensed
translation of the life of the great patriarch of monks, by S. Athanasius.
It is necessarily very much abbreviated.]

Antony was an Egyptian by race, born of noble
parents,^ who had a sufficient property of their own : and
as they were Christians, he too was Christianly brought up,
and when a boy was nourished in the house of his parents,
besides whom and his home he knew nought. But when
he grew older, he would not be taught letters,^ not wishing
to mix with other boys ; but all his longing was (according
to what is written of Jacob) to dwell simply in his own
house. But when his parents took him into the Lord's

' He is said to have been born at Coma, near Hcracleia, in Middle Egypt,
A. I). 251.
• Seemingly the Greek language and literature.

* —

-^:<

250

Lives of the Saints.

[January 17.

house he was not saucy, as a boy, nor inattentive as he
grew older ; but was subject to his parents, and attentive to
what was read, turning it to his own account. Nor, again,
did he trouble his parents for various and expensive dainties ;
but was content with what he found, and asked for nothing
more. When his parents died, he was left alone with a
little sister, when he was about eighteen or twenty years of
age, and he took care both of his house and of her. But
not six months after their death, as he was going as usual to
the Lord's house, and collecting his thoughts, he meditated,
as he walked, how the Apostles had left all and followed the
Saviour ; and how those in the Acts brought the price of
what they had sold, and laid it at the Apostles' feet, to be
given away to the poor ; and what, and how great, a hope
was laid up for them in heaven. With this in his mind he
entered the church. And it befell then that the Gospel was
being read ; and he heard how the Lord had said to the rich
man, " If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell all that thou hast, and
give to the poor ; and come, follow me, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven." Antony, therefore, as if the remembrance
of the saints had come to him from God, and as if the
lesson liad been read on his account, went forth at once
from the Lord's house, and gave away to those of his own
village the possessions he had inherited from his ancestors
(three hundred plough-lands, fertile and very fair), that they
might give no trouble either to him or his sister. All his
moveables he sold, and a considerable sum which he
received for them he gave to the poor. But having kept
back a little for his sister, when he went again into the
Lord's house, he heard the Lord saying in the Gospel,
" Take no thought for the morrow ;" and, unable to endure
any more delay, he went out and distributed that too to the
needy. And having committed his sister to known and faith-
ful virgins, and given to her wherewith to be educated in a

►i,-

January 17.]

kS. A^itony.

251

nunnery, he himself thenceforth devoted himself, outside
his house, to training ; taking heed to himself, and using
himself severely. For monasteries were not then common
in Egypt, nor did any monks know the wide desert ; but
each, who wished to take heed to himself, exercised himseli
alone, not far from his own village. There was then, in the
next village, an old man who had trained himself in a
solitary life from his youth. "V\Tien Antony saw him, he
emulated him in that which is noble. And first he began
to stay outside the village ; and then, if he heard of any
earnest man, he went to seek him, and did not return till he
had seen him. So dwelling there at first, he settled his mind
neither to look back towards his parents' wealth nor to
recollect his relations ; but he put all his longing and all his
earnestness on training himself more intensely. For the
rest he worked with his hands, because he had heard, " If
any man will not work, neither let him eat /' and of his
earnings he spent some on himself and some on the needy.
He prayed continually, because he knew that one ought to
pray secretly, without ceasing. He attended also so much
to what was read, that with him none of the Scriptures fell
to the ground, but he retained them all, and for the future
his memory served him instead of books. Behaving thus,
Antony was beloved by all ; and submitted truly to the
earnest men to whom he used to go. And from each of
them he learnt some improvement in his earnestness and
his training : he contemplated the courtesy of one, and
another's assiduity in prayer; another's freedom from
anger ; another's love of mankind : he took heed to
one as he watched ; to another as he studied : one he
admired for his endurance, another for his fasting and
sleeping on the ground; he laid to heart the meekness of
one, and the long-suffering of another ; and stamped upon
his memory the devotion to Clirist and the mutual love

)^-

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252 Lives of the Saints. [January 17.

which all in common possessed. And thus filled full, he
returned to his own place of training, gathering to himself
what he had got from each, and striving to show all their
qualities in himself. He never emulated those of his own
age, save in Avhat is best ; and did that so as to pain no
one, but make all rejoice over him. And all in the village
who loved good, seeing him thus, called him the friend of
God \ and some embraced him as a son, some as a brother.
But the devil, who hates and envies what is noble, would
not endure such a purpose in a youth : but attempted
against him all that he is wont to do ; suggesting to him the
remembrance of his wealth, care for his sister, relation to
his kindred, love of money, love of glory, the various
pleasures of luxury, and the other solaces of life ; and then
the harshness of virtue, and its great toil ; and the weakness
of his body, and the length of time ; and altogether raised
a great dust-cloud of arguments in his mind, trying to turn
him back from his righteous choice. But when the enemy
saw himself to be too weak for Antony's determination,
then he attacked him with the temptations which he is wont
to use against young men ; but Antony protected his body
with faith, prayers, and fastings. At last, when the evil one
could not overthrow Antony even thus, as if beside himself,
he appeared to the sight as a black child, and falling down be-
fore him, no longer tempted him to argue, but using a human
voice, said, " I have deceived many ; I have cast down
many. But now I have been worsted in the battle." Then,
when Antony asked him, " Who art thou who speakest thus
to me ?" he forthwith replied in a pitiable voice, " I am the
spirit of impurity."

This was Antony's first struggle against the devil : or
rather this mighty deed in him was the Saviour's, who con-
demned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the Lord
should be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but

^ — — ^

S. ANTHONY TORTUkKI) DV DI'.MONS.
From tlie Design by Martin Scliongncr.

Jan. , p. 252. J

[Jan. 17.

>J<-

January 17.]

vS. Antony.

253

after the Spirit. But neither did Antony, because the evil
one had fallen, grow careless and despise him; neither did the
enemy, when worsted by him, cease from lying in ambush
against him. Antony ate once a day, after the setting of
the sun, and sometimes only once in two days, often even
in four ; his food was bread with salt, his drink nothing but
water. When he slept he was content with a rush-mat ; but
mostly he lay on the bare ground. He would not anoint
himself with oil, saying that it was more fit for young men to
be earnest in training than to seek things which softened
the body ; and that they must accustom themselves to
labour. So forgetting the past, he daily, as if beginning
afresh, took more pains to improve, saying over to himself
continually the Apostle's words, "Forgetting what is behind,
stretching forward to what is before." Antony then went to
the tombs, which happened to be some way from the
village ; and having bidden one of his acquaintances bring
him bread at intervals of many days, he entered one of the
tombs, and, shutting the door upon himself, remained there
alone. But Satan, terrified lest in a little while he should fill
the desert with his training, coming one night with a multi-
tude of daemons, beat him so much with stripes that he lay
speechless from the torture. But by the providence of God,
the next day his acquaintance came, bringing him the loaves.
And having opened the door, and seeing him lying on the
ground for dead, he carried him to the Lord's house in the
village, and laid him on the ground ; and many of his kins-
folk and the villagers sat round him, as round a corpse.
But about midnight, Antony coming to himself, and waking
up, saw them all sleeping, and only his acquaintance awake,
and, nodding to him to approach, begged him to carry him
back to the tomb, without waking any one. When that was
done, the door was shut, and he remained as before, alone
inside. And because he could not stand on account of the

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254 Lives of the Saints. [January i».

daemon's blows, he prayed prostrate. And after his prayer,
he said with a shout, " Here am I, Antony : I do not fly
from your stripes; yea, do your worst, nothing shall separate
me from the love of Christ." And then he sang, " Though
an host were laid against me, yet shall not my heart be afraid."
So then, in the night, the devils made such a crash, that the
whole place seemed shaken, and the daemons, as if break-
ing in the four walls of the room, seemed to enter through
them, changing themselves into the shapes of beasts and
creeping things ; and the place was forthwith filled with
shapes of lions, bears, leopards, bulls and snakes, asps,
scorpions and wolves, and each of them moved according
to his own fashion. The lion roared, longing to attack ; the
bull seemed to toss ; the serpent Avrithed, and the wolf
rushed upon him ; and altogether the noises of all the
apparitions were dreadful. But Antony lay unshaken and
awake in spirit. He groaned at the pain of his body : but
clear in intellect, and as it were mocking, he said, "If there
were any power in you, it were enough that one of you
should come on ; but since the Lord has made you weak,
therefore you try to frighten me by mere numbers. And a
proof of your weakness is, that you imitate the shapes of
bmte animals." And taking courage, he said again, " If ye
can, and have received power against me, delay not, but
attack ; but if ye cannot, why do ye disturb me in vain ?
For a seal to us and a wall of safety is our faith in the
Lord." The devils, having made many efforts, gnashed their
teeth at him, because he rather mocked at them than they
at him. But neither then did the Lord forget Antony's
wrestling, but appeared to help him. For, looking up, he
saw the roof as it were opened, and a ray of light coming
down towards him. The devils suddenly became invisible,
and the pain of his body forthwith ceased, and the building
became quite whole. But Antony, feeling the succour, and

^ _ _

January 17.] S. Ant07iy. 255

getting his breath again, and freed from pain, questioned the
vision which appeared, saying, " Where wert thou ? Why
didst thou not appear to me from the first, to stop my
pangs ?" And a voice came to him, " Antony, I was here,
but I waited to see thy fight. Therefore, since thou hast
withstood, and hast not been worsted, I will be to thee
always a succour, and will make thee become famous every-
where." Hearing this, he rose and prayed, and was so
strong, that he felt that he had more power in his body than
he had before. He was then about thirty-and-five years old.
And on the morrow he v/ent out, and was yet more eager
for devotion to God ; and, going to that old man aforesaid,
he asked him to dwell with him in the desert. But when
he declined, because of his age, and because no such
custom had yet arisen, he himself straightway set oft' to the
mountain. But the fiend cast in his way a great silver plate.
But Antony, perceiving the trick of him who hates what is
noble, stopped. And he judged the plate worthless ; and
said, "Whence comes a plate in the desert? This is no
beaten way. Had it fallen, it could not have been unper-
ceived, from its great size ; and besides, he who lost it would
have turned back and found it, because the place is desert.
This is a trick of the devil. Thou shalt not hinder, devil, my
determination by this : let it go with thee into perdition."
Then again he saw gold lying in the way as he came up.
Antony, wondering at the abundance of it, stepped over it
and never turned, but ran on in haste, until he had lost
sight of the place. And growing even more and more
intense in his determination, he rushed up the mountain,
and finding an empty enclosure full of creeping things, on
account of its age, he dwelt in it. The creeping things
straightway left the place : but he blocked up the entry,
having taken with him loaves for six months (for the
Thebans do this, and they often remain a whole year fresh),

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256 Lives of the Saints. [January 17.

and having water with him, entering, as into a sanctuary, he
remained alone, never going forth, and never looking at any
one who came. Thus he passed a long time there training
himself, and only twice a year received loaves, let dovm
from above through the roof But those of his acquaintance
who came to him, as they often remained days and nights
outside (for he did not allow any one to enter), used to hear
as it were crowds inside clamouring, thundering, lamenting,
crying, " Depart from our ground. What dost thou even
in the desert ? Thou canst not abide our onset." At first
those without thought that there were some men fighting
with him, and that they had got in by ladders : but when,
peeping in through a crack, they saw no one, then they took
for granted that they were devils. His acquaintances came
up continually, expecting to find him dead, and heard him
singing, " Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered ;
let them also that hate Him flee before Him. Like as the
wax melteth at the fire, so let the ungodly perish at the
presence of God." And again, "All nations compassed me
round about, but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them."
He endured this for twenty years, training himself alone ;
neither going forth, nor being seen by any one for long
periods of time. But after this, when many longed for him,
and wished to imitate his training, and others who knew him
came, and would have burst in the door by force, Antony
came forth, as from some inner shrine, initiated into the
mysteries of God. And when they saw him they wondered ;
for his body had neither grown fat, nor waxed lean from
fasting, but he was just such as they had known him before
his retirement. They wondered again at the purity of his
soul, because it was neither contracted, as if by grief, nor re-
laxed by pleasure, nor possessed by laughter or by depres-
sion ; for he was neither troubled at beholding the crowd,
nor over-joyful at being saluted by too many ; but was alto-

Januar) ij.] ^. AntOliy . 257

gether equal, as being goverced by reason, and standing on
that which is according to nature. Many sufferers in body,
who were present, did the Lord heal by him. And He
gave to Antony grace in speaking, so that he comforted
many who grieved, and reconciled others who were at
variance, exhorting all to prefer nothing in the world to the
love of Christ, and persuading and exhorting them to be
mindful of the good things to come, and of the love of God
towards us, who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him
up for us all. He persuaded many to choose the solitary
life ; and so, thenceforth, cells sprang up in the mountains,
and the desert was colonized by monks.

But when he returned to the cell, he persisted in the
noble labours of his youth ; and by continued exhortations he
increased the willingness of those who were already monks,
and stirred to love of training the greater number of the rest ;
and quickly, as his speech drew men on, the cells became
more numerous ; and he governed them all as a father.

The cells in the mountains were like tents filled with
divine choirs, singing, discoursing, fasting, praying, rejoicing
over the hope of the future, working that they might give
alms thereof, and having love and concord with each other.
And there was really to be seen, as it were, a land by itself,
of piety and justice; for there was none there who did
wrong, or suffered wrong ; but a multitude of men training
themselves, and in all of them a mind set on virtue.

After these things, the persecution which happened under
the Maximinus of that time,i laid hold of the Church ; and
when the holy martyrs were brought to Alexandria, Antony

1 A.D. 301. G.-il<:nus Valerius Maximinus (his real name was Daza) had been a
shepherd-laii in Illyria, like his uncle Galerius Valerius Maximianus ; and rose,
like him, through the various grades of the army to be co-Emperor of Rome, over
Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor ; a furious persecutor of the Christians, and a brutal
and profligate tyrant. Such were the " kings of the world " from whom those old
monks fled.

VOL. I. T7

'^'

25S

Lives of the Saints.

[January 17.

too followed, leaving his cell, and saying, " Let us depart
too, that we may wrestle if we be called, or see them
WTesthng." And he longed to be a martyr himself, but, not
choosing to give himself up, he ministered to the confessors
in the mines, and in the prisons. And he was very earnest
in the judgment-hall to excite the readiness of those who
were called upon to wrestle; and to receive and bring on
their way, till they were perfected, those of them who went
to martyrdom. At last the judge, seeing the fearlessness
and earnestness of him and those wlio were with him, com-
manded that none of the monks should appear in the judg-
ment-hall, or haunt at all in the city. So all the rest thought
good to hide themselves that day ; but Antony cared so little
for the order, that he washed his cloak, and stood next day
upon a high place, and appeared to the Governor in shining
white. Therefore, when all the rest wondered, and the
Governor saw him, and passed by with his array, he stood
fearless. He himself prayed to be a martyr, and was like
one grieved, because he had not borne his witness. But the
Lord was preserving him for our benefit, and that of the
rest, that he might become a teacher to many in the training
which he had learnt from Scripture. For many, when they
only saw his manner of life, were eager to emulate it. So he
again ministered continually to the confessors; and, as if
bound with them, wearied himself in his services. And
when at last the persecution ceased, and the blessed Bishop
Peter had been martyred, he left the city, and went back to
his cell. And he was there, day by day, a martyr in his
conscience, and wrestling in the conflict of faith ; for he im-
posed on himself a much more severe training than before;
and his garment was within of hair, without of skin, which
he kept till his end.

When, then, he retired, and had resolved neither to go
forth himself, nor to receive any one, one Martinian, a

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January 17.]

6". A7itony.

259

captain of soldiers, came and gave trouble to Antony. For
he had with him his daughter, who was possessed by a
devil. And while he remained a long time knocking at the
door, and expecting him to come to pray to God for the
child, Antony could not bear to open, but leaning from
above, said, " Man, why criest thou to me ? I, too, am a
man, as thou art. But if thou believest, pray to God, and
it shall come to pass." Forthwith, therefore, he believed,
and called on Christ ; and went away, his daughter made
whole. Most of the sufferers, when he did not open
the door, sat down outside the cell, and praying, were
cleansed. But when he saw himself troubled by many,
and not being permitted to retire, as he wished, being afraid
lest he himself should be puffed up by what the Lord was
doing by him, or lest others should count of him above what
he was, he resolved to go to the Upper Thebaid, to those
who knew him not. And, in fact, having taken loaves from
the brethren, he sat down on the bank of the river, watching
for a boat to pass, that he might embark and go up in it.
And as he watched, a voice came to him : " Antony,
whither art thou going, and why?" And he, not terrified,
but as one accustomed to be often called thus, answered
when he heard it, " Because the crowds will not let me be
at rest; therefore am I minded to go up to the Upper
Thebaid, on account of the many annoyances which befall
me ; and above all, because they ask of me things beyond
my strength." And the voice said to him, " Even if thou
goest up to the Thebaid, even if, as thou art minded to do,
thou goest down to the cattle pastures,^ thou wilt have to
endure more ; but if thou wilt really be at rest, go now
into the inner desert." And when Antony said, " Who will
show me the way, for I have not tried it ?" forthwith he

' The lonely alluvial flats at the mouths of the Nile. "Below the cliffs, beside
the sea," as one describes them.

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260

Lives of the Saints.

[January 17.

was shown Saracens who were going to journey that road.
So, going to them, and drawing near them, Antony asked
leave to depart with them into the desert. They wiUingly
received him ; and, journeying three days and three nights
with them, he came to a very high mountain •} and there
was water under the mountain, clear, sweet, and very cold,
and a plain outside ; and a few neglected date-palms. Then
Antony, as if stirred by God, loved the spot. Having re-
ceived bread from those who journeyed with him, he
remained alone in the mount, no one else being with him.
For he recognized that place as his own home, and kept it
thenceforth. And the Saracens themselves seeing Antony's
readiness, came that way on purpose, and joyfully brought
him loaves ; and he had, too, the solace of the dates, which
were then small and paltry. But after this, the brethren,
having found out the spot, like children remembering their
father, were anxious to send things to him ; but Antony saw
that, in bringing him bread, some were put to trouble and
fatigue ; so he asked some who came to him to bring him a
hoe and a hatchet, and a little corn ; and when these were
brought, having gone over the land round the mountain, he
found a very narrow place which was suitable, and tilled it ;
and, having plenty of water to irrigate it, he sowed ; and,
doing this year by year, he got his bread from thence, re-
joicing that he should be burdensome to no one on that
account. But after this, seeing again some people coming,
he planted also a very few pot-herbs, that he who came
might have some small solace, after the labour of that hard
journey, At first, however, the wild beasts in the desert,
coming on account of the water, often hurt his crops and
his tillage ; but he, gently laying hold of one of them, said
to them all, " Why do you hurt me, who have not hurt you ?

1 Now the monastery of Deir Antonios, over the Wady el Arabah, between the
Nile and the Red Sea, where Antony's monks endure to this day.

January IK.] S. Autony. 26 I

Depart, and, in the name of the Lord, never come near this
place." And from that time forward, as if they were afraid
of his command, they never came near the place. So he
was there alone in the inner momitain, having leisure for
prayer and for training. But the brethren who ministered
to him asked him that they might bring him olives, and
pulse, and oil every month ; for, after all, he was old.

Being once asked by the monks to come down to them,
and to visit them and their places, he journeyed with the
monks who came for him. A camel carried their loaves and
their water, for that desert is all dry, and there is no drink-
able water except in that mountain where his cell is. But
when the water failed on the journey, and the heat was most
intense, they all began to be in danger; for finding no water,
they could walk no more, but lay down on the ground, and
they let the camel go, and gave themselves up. Then the
old man, seeing them in danger, was grieved, and departing
a little way from them, he bent his knees, and stretching out
his hands, he prayed, and forthwith the Lord caused water
to come out where he had stopped and prayed. Thus all
of them drinking, took breath again ; and having filled their
skins, they sought the camel, and found her ; for it befell
that the halter had been twisted round a stone, and thus
she had been stopped. So, having brought her back, and
given her to drink, they put the skins on her, and went
through their journey unharmed. And when they came to
the outer cells, all embraced him, looking on him as a
father. And there was joy again in the mountains, and
comfort through their faith in each other. And he too
rejoiced, seeing the willingness of the monks, and his sister
grown old in maidenhood, and herself the leader of other
virgins. And so, after certain days, he went back again to
his own mountain.

And after that many came to him ; and others, who

262

Lives of the Saints. [January »7.

suffered, dared also to come. Now to all the monks who
came to him he gave continually this command : To trust
in the Lord and love Him, and to keep themselves from
foul thoughts and fleshly pleasures ; and not to be deceived
by fulness of bread ; and to avoid vainglory ; and to pray
continually ; and to sing before sleep and after sleep ; and to
lay by in their hearts the commandments of Scripture; and to
remember the works of the Saints, in order to have their
souls attuned to emulate them. But especially he coun-
selled them to meditate continually on the Apostle's saying,
" Let not the sun go down upon your wrath ;" and this he
said was spoken of all commandments in common, in order
that, not on wrath alone, but on every other sin, the sun
should never go down ; for it was noble and necessary that
the sun should never condemn us for a baseness by day,
nor the moon for a sin or even a thought by night ; there-
fore, in order that that which is noble may be preserved in
us, it was good to hear and to keep what the Apostle com-
manded : for he said, " Judge yourselves, and prove your-
selves." Let each then take account with himself, day by
day, of his daily and nightly deeds ; and if he has not
sinned, let him not boast, but let him endure in what is
good and not be negligent, neither condemn his neiglibour,
neither justify himself until the Lord comes who searches
secret things. For we often deceive ourselves in what we
do. Giving therefore the judgment to Him, let us sympa-
thize with each other ; and let us bear each other's burdens,
and examine ourselves ; and what we are behind 'n, let us
be eager to fill up. And let this, too, be our counsel
for safety against sinning. Let us each note and write
down the deeds and motions of the soul as if we were
about to relate them to another; and be confident that
as we shall be utterly ashamed that they should be
known, we shall cease from sinning, and even from desir-

->£

q^ .5(

January 17.] S. Ani07iy. 263

ing anything mean. As therefore, when in each other's
sight we dare not commit a crime, so if we WTite down
our thoughts, and confess them, we shall keep ourselves
the more from foul thoughts, for shame lest they should
be known. And thus forming ourselves we shall be able
to bring the body into slavery, and please the Lord on
the one hand, and on the other ti'ample on the snares of the
enemy. This was his exhortation to those who met him :
but with those who suffered he suffered, and prayed with
them. And those who suffered he exliorted to keep up
heart, and to know that the power of cure was none of his,
nor of any man's ; but only belonged to God, who works
when and whatsoever He chooses. So the sufferers received
this as a remedy, learning not to despise the old man's
words, but rather to keep up heart ; and those who were
cured, learned not to bless Antony, but God alone.

But when two brethren were coming to him, and water
failed them on the journey, one of them died, and the other
was about to die. In fact, being no longer able to walk, he
too lay upon the ground expecting death. But Antony, as
he sat on the mountain, called two monks who happened to
be there, and hastened them, saying, " Take a pitcher of
water, and run on the road towards Egypt ; for of two who
are coming hither one has just expired, and the other will
do so if you do not hasten. For this has been showed to
me as I prayed." So the monks, going, found the one lying
dead, and buried him ; and the other they recovered with
the water, and brought him to the old man. Now the
distance was a day's journey. But this alone in Antony
was wonderful, that sitting on the mountain he kept his
heart watchful, and the Lord showed him things afar off.

And concerning those who came to him, he often pre-
dicted some days, or even a month, beforehand, and the
cause why they were coming. For some came only to see

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Lives of the Saints.

[January 17.

hin\ and others on account of sickness, and all thought the
labour of the journey no trouble, for each went back aware
that he had been benefited.

But how tolerant was his temper, and how humble his
spirit ! for though he was so great, he wished to put every
ecclesiastic before himself in honour. For to the bishops
and priests he bowed his head ; and if a deacon came to
him, he discoursed with him on what was profitable, but in
prayer he gave place to him. He often asked questions,
and deigned to listen to all present, confessing that he was
profited if any one said aught that was useful. Moreover,
his countenance had great and wonderful grace; and this
gift too he had from the Saviour. For if he was present
among the multitude of monks, and any one who did not
previously know him wished to see him, as soon as he came,
he passed by all the rest, and ran to Antony himself, as if
attracted by his eyes. He did not diff"er from the rest in
stature or in stoutness, but in the steadiness of his temper,
and the purity of his soul ; for as his soul was undisturbed,
his outward senses were undisturbed likewise, so that the
cheerfulness of his soul made his face cheerful. And he
was altogether wonderful in faith, and pious, for he never
communicated with the Meletian^ schismatics, knowing their
malice and apostasy from the beginning ; nor did he con-
verse amicably with Manichseans or any other heretics, save
only to exhort them to be converted to piety. For he held
that their friendship and converse was injury and ruin to the
soul. So also he detested the heresy of the Arians, and
exhorted all not to approach them, nor hold their misbelief ^

1 Meletius, Bishop of Lycopolis, was the author of an obscure schism calling itsell
the "Church of the Martyrs," which refused to communicate with the rest of the
Kastern Church,

' Arius (whose most famous and successful opponent was Athanasius, the writer
of this biography) maintained that the Son of God was not co-equal and co-eternal
with the Father, but created by Him out of nothing, and before the world. His
opinions were condemned in the famous Council of Nicaea, a.d. 325.

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January 17.]

S. A7ito7ty.

265

Being sent for by the bishops and all the brethren, he went
down from the mountain, and entering Alexandria, he de
nounced the Arians, teaching the people that the Son of
God was not a created thing, but that He is the Eternal
Word and Wisdom of the Essence of the Father, Where-
fore he said, " Do not have any communication with these
most impious Arians ; for there is no communion betvveen
light and darkness. For you are pious Christians : but they,
when they say that the Son of God, who is from the
Father, is a created being, differ nought from the heathen,
because they worship the creature instead of the Creator.
All the people therefore rejoiced at hearing that heresy
anathematized by such a man ; and all those in the city
ran together to see Antony; and the Greeks,^ and those
who are called their priests, came into the church, wishing to
see the man of God. And many heathens wished to touch
the old man, believing that it would be of use to them ; and
in fact as many became Christians in those few days as
would have been usually converted in a year. And when
some thought that the crowd troubled him, he quietly said
that they were not more numerous than the fiends with
whom he wrestled on the mountain. But when he left the
city, and we were setting him on his journey, when we came
to the gate, a certain woman called to him : " Wait, man of
God, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil ; wait,
I beseech thee, lest I too harm myself with running after
thee." The old man hearing it, and being asked by us,
waited willingly. But when the woman drew near, the child
dashed itself on the gi'ound ; and when Antony prayed and
called on the name of Christ, it rose up sound, the unclean
spirit having gone out ; and the mother blessed God, and we
all gave thanks : and he himself rejoiced at leaving the city
for the mountain, as for his own home.

1 l.a. those were still heathens.

->if

266

Lives of the Saints.

[January 17.

Now he was very prudent; and what was wonderful,
though he had never learnt letters, be was a shrewd and
understanding man.

When some philosophers met hii t in the outer mountain,
and thought to mock him, because he had not learnt letters,
Antony answered, " Which is first, the sense or the letters ?
And, which is the cause of the other, the sense of the
letters, or the letters of the sense ?" And when they said
that the sense came first, Antony replied, "If then the
sense be sound, the letters are not needed." So they went
away wondering, when they saw so much understanding in
an unlearned man. For though he had lived, and grown
old, in the mountain, his manners were not rustic, but
graceful and courteous ; and his speech was seasoned with
the divine salt.

The fame of Antony reached even the kings, for Con-
stantine, and his sons, Constantius and Constans, hearing
of these things, wrote to him as to a father, and begged to
receive an answer from him. But he did not make much of
the letters, nor was pufted up by their messages; and he was
just the same as he was before the kings wrote to him. And
he called his monks and said, " Wonder not if a king writes
to us, for he is but a man : but wonder rather that God has
written His law to man, and spoken to us by His own Son."
So he declined to receive their letters, sajnng he did not
know how to write an answer to such things ; but being ad-
monished by the monks that the kings were Christians, and
that they must not be scandalized by being despised, he
permitted the letters to be read, and wrote an answer;
accepting them because they worshipped Christ, and coun-
selling them, for their salvation, not to think the present life
great, but rather to remember judgment to come ; and to
know that Christ was the only true and eternal king ; and
he begged them to be merciful to men, and to think of

January 17.] kS". AutO^ty. 267

justice and the poor. And they, when they received the
answer, rejoiced. Thus was he kindly towards all, and all
looked on him as their father. He then betook himself
again into the inner mountain, and continued his accus-
tomed training. But often, when he was sitting and walking
with those who came unto him, he was astounded, as is
written in Daniel. And after the space of an hour, he told
what had befallen to the brethren who were with him, and
they perceived that he had seen some vision. Often he saw
in the mountain what was happening in Egypt, and once he
told what he had seen, to Serapion the Bishop, who saw
him occupied with a vision. For as he sat, he fell as it
were into an ecstasy, and groaned much at what he saw.
Then, after an hour, turning to those who were with him, he
fell into a trembling, and rose up and prayed, and bending
his knees, remained so a long while ; and then the old man
rose up and wept. The bystanders, therefore, trembling
and altogether terrified, asked him to tell them what had
happened, and they tormented him so much, that he was
forced to speak. And he groaning greatly — " Ah ! my
children," he said, "it were better to be dead than to live
and behold the things that I have seen shall come to pass."
And when they asked him again, he said with tears, that
*' Wrath will seize on the Church, and she will be given over
to men like unto brutes, which have no understanding ; for
I saw the table of the Lord's house, and mules standing all
around it in a ring and kicking inwards, as a herd does when
it leaps in confusion ; and ye all perceived how I groaned,
for I heard a voice saying, * My sanctuary shall be defiled.' "
This the old man saw, and after two years there befell the
present inroad of the Arians,^ and the plunder of the

1 Probably that of a.d. 341, when Gregory of Cappadocia, nominated by the
Arian Bishops, who had assembled at the Council of Antioch, expelled Athanasius
from the see of Alexandria, and great violence was committed by his followers and
by Philagrius the Prefect. Athanasius meanwhile fied to Rome.

»J«-

268

Lives of the Saints.

[January 17.

churches, when they carried off the holy vessels by violence,
and made the heathen carry them : and when too they
forced the heathens from the prisons to join them, and in
their presence did on the Holy Table what they would. ^
Then we all perceived that the kicks of those mules fore-
shadowed to Antony what the Arians are now doing, without
understanding, as brute beasts. But when Antony saw this
sight, he exhorted those about him, saying, "Lose not heart,
children ; for as the Lord has been angry, so will He again
be appeased, and the Church shall soon receive again her
own order and shine forth as she is wont ; and ye shall see
the persecuted restored to their place, and impiety retreat-
ing again into its own dens, and the pious faith speaking
boldly everywhere with all freedom. Only defile not your-
selves with the Arians, for this teaching is not of the
Apostle, but of their father the devil ; barren and irrational
like the deeds of those mules."

All the magistrates asked him to come down from the
mountain, that they might see him, because it was impos-
sible for them to go in thither to him. And when he
declined, they insisted, and even sent to him prisoners
under the charge of soldiers, that at least on their account
he might come down. So being forced by necessity, and
seeing them lamenting, he came to the outer mountain.
And his labour this time too was profitable to many, and
his coming for their good. To the magistrates, he was of
use, counselling them to prefer justice to all things, and to
fear God, and to know that with what judgment they judged
they should be judged in turn. But he loved best of all hi^
life in the mountain. Once again, when he was compelled
in the same way to leave it, by those who were in want, and
by the general of the soldiers, who entreated him earnestly,
he came down, and having spoken to them somewhat of the

1 I.e. celebrated there their own Communion.

January 17.3 S. AfltOny. 269

things which conduced to salvation, he was pressed also by
those who were in need. But being asked by the general
to lengthen his stay, he refused, and persuaded him by a
graceful parable, saying, " Fishes, if they lie long on the dry
land, die ; so monks who stay \vith you lose their strength.
As the fishes then hasten to the sea, so must we to the moun-
tain, lest if we delay we should forget what is within."

Another general, named Balacius, bitterly persecuted us
Christians on account of his affection for those abominable
Arians. His cruelty was so great that he even beat nuns,
and stripped and scourged monks. Antony sent him a letter
to this effect : — " I see wrath coming upon thee. Cease,
therefore, to persecute the Christians, lest the wrath lay hold
upon thee, for it is near at hand." But Balacius, laughing,
threw the letter on the ground, and spat on it ; and insulted
those who brought it, bidding them tell Antony, "Since thou
carest for monks, I will soon come after thee likewise." And
not five days had passed, when the wrath laid hold on him.
For Balacius himself, and Nestorius, the Eparch of Egypt,
went out to the first station from Alexandria, which is called
Chsereas's. Both of them were riding on horses belonging
to Balacius, and the most gentle in all his stud : but before
they had got to the place, the horses began playing with each
other, as is their wont, and suddenly the more gentle of the
two, on which Nestorius was riding, attacked Balacius and
pulled him off with his teeth, and so tore his thigh that he
was carried back to the city, and died in three days.

But the rest who came to Antony he so instructed that
they gave up at once their lawsuits, and blessed those who
had retired from this life. And those who had been un-
justly used he so protected, that you would think he, and
not they, was the sufferer. And he was able to be of use to
all ; so that many who were serving in the army, and many
wealthy men, laid aside the burdens of life and became

2/0

Lives of the Saints.

[January ij.

thenceforth monks ; and altogether he was Hke a physician
given by God to Egypt. For who met him grieving, and
did not go away rejoicing? "Who came mourning over his
dead, and did not forthwith lay aside his grief? Who came
wrathful, and was not converted to friendship ? What poor
man came wearied out, and, when he saw and heard him,
did not despise wealth and comfort himself in his poverty ?
What monk, who had grown remiss, was not strengthened
by coming to him ? What young man coming to the moun-
tain and looking upon Antony, did not forthwith renounce
pleasure and love temperance ? Who came to him tempted
by devils, and did not get rest? Who came troubled by
doubts, and did not get peace of mind? For this was the
great thing in Antony's asceticism, that (as I have said
before), having the gift of discerning spirits, he understood
their movements, and knew in what direction each of them
turned his endeavours and his attacks. And not only he
was not deceived by them himself, but he taught those who
were troubled in mind how they might turn aside the plots
of devils, teaching them the weakness and the craft of their
enemies. How many maidens, too, who had been already
betrothed, and only saw Antony from afar, remained un-
married for Christ's sake ! Some, too, came from foreign
parts to him, and all, having gained some benefit, went back
from him as from a father. He was visiting, according to
his wont, the monks in the outer mountain, and having
learned from Providence concerning his own end, he said
to the brethren, " This visit to you is my last, and I wonder
if we shall see each other again in this life. It is time for
me to set sail, for I am near a hundred and five years old."
And when they heard that, they wept, and kissed the old
man. And he, as if he were setting out from a foreign city
to his own, spoke joyfully, and exhorted them not to grow
idle in their labours, or cowardly in their training, but to live

»^^-

-»J«

* ^

January 17.] S. Afltony. 2*] \

as those who died daily. And when the brethren tried to
force him to stay with them and make his end there, he
would not endure it, on many accounts, as he showed by his
silence ; and especially on this : — The Egyptians are wont
to wrap in linen the corpses of good persons, and especially
of the holy martyrs, but not to bury them underground,
but to lay them upon benches and keep them in their
houses ;' thinking that by this they honour the departed.
Now Antony had often asked the bishops to exhort the
people about this, and, in like manner, he himself rebuked
the laity and terrified the women ; saying that it was a thing
neither lawful, nor in any way holy ; for that the bodies of
the patriarchs and prophets are to this day preserved in
sepulchres, and that the very body of our Lord was laid in
a sepulchre, and a stone placed over it to hide it, till He rose
the third day. And thus saying, he showed that those broke
the law who did not bury the corpses of the dead, even if
they were saints ; for what is greater or more holy than the
Lord's body ? Many, then, when they heard him, buried their
dead thenceforth underground; and blessed the Lord that
they had been taught rightly. Being then aware of this, and
afraid lest they should do the same by his body, he hurried
himself, and bade farewell to the monks in the outer moun-
tain ; and coming to the inner mountain, where he was wont
to abide, after a few months he grew sick, and calling those
who were by — and there were two of them who had re-
mained there within fifteen years, he said to them, " I
indeed go the way of the fathers, as it is written, for I per-
ceive that I am called by the Lord. Promise to bury me
secretly, so that no one shall know the place, save you alone,
for I shall receive my body incorruptible from my Saviour
at the resurrection of the dead. And distribute my garments

1 Evidently the prima;val custom of embalming the dead, and keeping mummies
In the house, still lingered among the Egyptians.

»J( _ — t^

272 Lives of the SamtS. [January 17.

thus. To Athanasius, the bishop, give one of my sheep-
skins, and the cloak under me, which was new when he
gave it me, and has grown old by me ; and to Serapion,
the bishop, give the other sheepskin ; and do you have the
hair-cloth garment. And for the rest, children, farewell, for
Antony is going, and is with you no more."

Saying this, when they had embraced him, he stretched
out his feet, and, as if he saw friends coming to him, and
grew joyful on their account (for, as he lay, his countenance
was bright), he departed and was gathered to his fathers.
And they forthwith, as he had commanded them, preparing
the body and wrapping it up, hid it under ground : and no
one knows to this day where it is hidden, save those two
servants only.

In art, S. Antony appears (i), with a hog which has a
bell attached to its neck. Sometimes, however, S. Antony
holds the bell. He was regarded as the Patron of the
Hospitallers ; and when ordinances were passed forbidding
the poor from allowing their swine to run loose about the
streets, as they were often in the way of horses, an exception
was made in favour of the pigs of the hospitallers, on con-
sideration of their wearing a bell round their necks. But
it is possible that this did not originate the symbol, but
that rather, on account of the hog being the symbol of
S. Antony, the Antonine Hospitallers were allowed to pre-
serve theirs, and that the hog represents the flesh which
S. Antony controlled, and the bell is a common symbol of
hermits ; (2), he is represented with his peculiar cross.
The cross of S. Antony is a crutch, or the Egyptian cross,
like the letter T.

^ __ — . ^

tj, . ^

January 17.] S. MUdgytka. 2 '] 2)

S. SABINE, B. OF PIACENZA.

(end of 4TH CENT.)

[Authorities : Roman Martyrology and the Dialogues of S. Gregory the
Great, lib. III., c. lo.J

S. Sabine or Savine, was of Roman origin ; he was made
Bishop of Piacenza in Italy, and was present at the great
Council of Nicaea, and also at that of Aquileija. S. Gregory
relates of him, that on one occasion the river Po had over-
flowed its banks, and was devastating the church lands.
Then Sabine said to his deacon, " Go and say to the river,
' The Bishop commands thee to abate thy rage, and return
into thy bed.' " But the deacon refused to go, thinking he
was sent on a fool's errand. Therefore Sabine said to his
notary, " Write on a strip of parchment these words, Sabine,
servant of the Lord Jesus Christ to the river Po, greeting: —
I command thee, 0 river, to return into thy bed, and do no
more injury to the lands of the church, in the name of Jesus
Christ, our common Lord." And when the notary had thus
\vritten, the Bishop said, " Go, cast this into the river."
And he did so ; then the flood abated, and the Po returned
within its banks, as aforetime. After having governed his
diocese forty-five years, he died on December nth, and
was buried in the church of the Twelve Apostles, but now
known as the church of S. Savine, on Jan. 17th.

S. MILDGYTHA, V.
(about a.d. 730.)

[Mildgytha, Mildwitha, Milgith or Milwith, as she is variously called, is
commemorated in the English Kalendars.]

Nothing more is known of S. Mildgytha than that she
was the youngest sister of S. Mildred and S. Milburgh, and

VOL, I.

2/4

Lives of the Saints.

[January 17.

daughter of S. Emienburga and IMerewald, Prince of Mer-
cia, who was the son of the terrible Penda, the great enemy
of Christianity in Mid-England. Mildgytha, like her sisters,
took the veil, and died a nun at Canterbury.

The Chaii- of S. Peter in Uic Vatican.

■jj

■J

H
O

a
h

't1

lanuary i8.] S. P cter s Cliatr. 275

January 18.

S. Peter's Chair, at Rome, a.d. 43.

S. Prisca, V. M., at Rome, about a.d. 50.

SS. Paul and Thirty-Six Companions, MM., in Egypt.

SS. AkCHELaa,Thecla, and Susanna, V., MM., at Salerno, in Italy,

A.D. 2S5.

S. VoLUSlAN, B. C. of Tours, in France, circ. a.d. 400.

SS. LiBERATA and FAUSTINA, VV., at Como, in Italy, circ. a.d. 580.

S. Leobard, H., at Marmoutier, in France, circ. a.d. 583.

S. Deicolus, Ah. of Lure, in Burgundy, beginning ofTth cent.

S. Face, C, at Cremona, in Italy, a.d. 1272.

S. PETER'S CHAIR.
(a.d. 43.)

[All ancient Latin Martyrologies. The commemoration having, however,
died out, it was restored by Pope Paul IV. The feast of the Chair of
S. Peter is found in a copy of the ancient Martyrology, passing under
the name of S. Jerome, made in the time of S. Willibrod, in 720.]

T was an ancient custom observed by churches

to keep an annual feast of the consecration of

their bishops, and especially of the founding of

the episcopate in them. The feast of S. Peter's

Chair is the commemoration of the institution of the

patriarchal see of Rome by S. Peter, the Prince of the

Apostles. "This day," says S. Augustine (Serm. xv. de

Sanctis), "has received the name of the Chair from our

predecessor, because S. Peter, the first of the Apostles, is

said on this to have taken the throne of his episcopate.

Rightly, therefore, do the churches venerate the natal day of

that chair which the Apostle received for the good of the

churches."

The ancient wooden seat of S. Peter is preserved in the
Vatican. That S. Peter founded the church at Rome by
his preaching is expressly asserted by Caius, an ecclesiasti-

^ *

276 Lives of the Saints. [January 18.

cal writer born about a.d. 202/ who relates that he and
S. Paul suffered there. The same is affirmed by Dionysius,
Bishop of Corinth, in the second age.^ S. Irenaeus, who
lived in the same age, calls the Church of Rome "the
greatest and most ancient church, founded by the two
glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul."^ Eusebius says, " Peter,
that powerful and great Apostle, like a noble commander of
God, fortified with divine amiour, bore the precious mer-
chandise of the revealed light from the east to those in the
west, and came to Rome, announcing the light itself, and
salutary doctrine of the soul, the proclamation of the
kingdom of God."* And he adds that his first epistle was
said to have been composed at Rome, and that he shows
this fact, by calling the city by an unusual trope, Babylon ;
thus, " The Church of Babylon, elected together with you,
saluteth you." (i Pet. v. 13.^)

S. PRISCA, V. M., AT ROME.
(about a.d. 50.)

[Roman Martyrology. She is often confounded with S. Priscilla mentioned
in the Acts of the Apostles, the wife of Aquila, but called Prisca in the
second epistle of Paul to Timothy. What adds to the confusion is, tliat
S. Prisca is said in her Acts to have suffered under Claudius, but whether
Claudius, who reigned from 41—54, or the second Claudius, who reigned
from 263 to 270, is not st;ited ; but it seems probable that it was under the
first Claudius. 6 The Acts of S. Prisca are a forgery, and deseri'e no
confidence. The following account is taken from the Martyrologies.]

S. Prisca, a maiden of consular birth, being accused of
Christianity, at the age of thirteen, was ordered by the

1 Euseb. Hist. Eccl., lib. II. c. 25. 2 Euseb. lib. 11. c. 25. » Lib. III. c. 3.

♦ Euseb. lib. II. c. 14. » Ibid. c. ij.

« That Claudius I. did persecute the Church appears from Acts xviii. a.
Why Alban Butler should give S. Prisca the date 275, after the death of the second
Claudius, when all notices of her are unanimous in saying she suffered under
Claudius 1., I am at a loss to conjecture.

January i8o S. Paul afid Companious. 277

Emperor Claudius to sacrifice to idols. On her steadfastly
refusing, she was beaten with the hand and cast into prison.
On the morrow she was again urged to sacrifice, but when
she remained invincible, she was beaten with rods, and then
taken back to prison. The third day she was exposed to
a lion, which however crouched at her feet, doing her no
injury. Then, having been tortured on the little horse, wdth
hooks and pincers, she was led outside of the city, and was
decapitated.

An eagle is said to have defended her body from dogs,
till Christians came and buried it.

SS. PAUL AND THIRTY-SIX COMPANIONS, MM.

IN EGYPT.

(date uncertain.)

[From the ancient Acts in Bollandus and Ruinart.]

In Egypt thirty-seven Christian soldiers entered into a
zealous confederacy to spread the Gospel throughout the
country. Their leader was one Paul. They divided them-
selves into four companies. Paul and nine others went
eastwards. Recumbus, with eight more, went to the north ;
Theonas, with the like number, to the south ; and Popias,
with the remainder, to the west. The Governor of Egypt,
alarmed at the report he heard of this confederacy, sent
troops to apprehend them, and when they were brought
before him he ordered them to instant execution ; those
who went to the east and south, to be burnt; those who
went to the north to be beheaded, and those who travelled
west to be crucified. They suffered on the iSth January,
but in what year is not mentioned.

->J«

278 Lives of the Saints. uanuary is.

SS. ARCHELAA,THECLA, AND SUSANNA, VV., MM.

AT SALERNO.

(about a.d. 285.)

[Tlie A' Is of iheL-e niartyrs constitute the lections for this day in the
Salerno Breviaiy. Entirely unhistorical.]

Archelaa, a virgin consecrated to God, during the perse-
cution of Diocletian, took refuge with two maidens, Thecla
and Susanna, in a private house outside the walls of Nola,
in Campania, hoping to remain unnoticed till the storm was
passed. But Leontius, Governor of Salerno, having heard
that they were Christians, ordered them to be brought
before him. Archelaa was exposed to lions, but was un-
hurt ; then the inhuman judge ordered boiling oil and pitch
to be poured over her naked body. In her agony, she
spread her hands to heaven, and cried : " Look, O Lord,
on us, and be mindful of thy servants. Extinguish the fire
which consumes me, and cool my tortured body, refreshing
me after the wounds the wicked one has dealt me !" Then a
sudden sunbeam shot from between the clouds upon her,
and a voice was heard, " O Martyr, fear not ! A crown is
laid up for thee in heaven. Fear not, I am with thee, and
I will give thee refreshment and succour." Then Leontius
ordered Archelaa, Thecla, and Susanna to have their heads
smitten off with the executioner's sword.

S. LEOBARD, H., AT MARMOUTIER.

(about a.d. 583.)

[Gallican Martyrologies. Authority : the life of S. Leobaid, written by
his friend, S. Gregory of Tours,]

Leobard was the son of noble parents in Auvergne.
The youth loved study and prayer. On reaching^ his

►•<-

January i8.] ,5. Leobavd. 2']<iJ

majority, his father urged him to marry, but the young man,
having no wish to take to himself a Avife, refused. The
father, however, pressed him so strongly, that at last he con-
sented to be betrothed. "Then," says S. Gregory, "the
ring, the kiss, and the shoe were given, and the betrothal
feast was kept." But Leobard lost his father shortly after,
and taking the betrothal gifts, he rode to his brother's
house, to make them over to him. He found his brother
so drunk that he did not even invite him to stay the night
with him, so Leobard tied up his horse, and crept into a
hay loft and slept there. But in the middle of the night he
woke, and his mind turned to the importance of saving his
soul, and of striving to be like Christ. Then he resolved
to renounce the world wholly ; but first to seek counsel at
the tomb of S. Martin at Tours. From Tours he went to
Mannoutier, and joined himself to a hermit named Alaric,
who spent his time in making parchment and wi-iting out
Holy Scripture. Leobard Hved in a cave, which he dug
out of the rock, enlarging it and improving it as he saw
fitting ; and here he spent twenty-two years in prayer and
study and writing, and in labour with his hands. He was
frequently visited by S. Gregory of Tours, who was his per-
sonal friend. On a Sunday, being very ill, he said to him
who ministered to him in his sickness, " Prepare me some
food." " It is ready, sir," answered the servant shortly
after. " Go forth," said the hermit, " and see if the people
are returning from mass." And this he said because he knew
that his hour was come, and he desired to be alone with
God when he migrated. So the servant went out and
looked towards the church, and waited, and presently he
returned to say that he saw the congregation drifting home-
wards, then he saw his master lying dead upon the ground,
and he, too, was going home.

^ ^

280

Lives of the Saints.

[January 18.

S. DEICOLUS, AB. OF LURE.

(beginning of 7TH CENT.)

[Deicolus, in Irish Deichul, in French Did, Ddi, Dielf, Dieti, or Diel,
is commemorated on this day in the Roman Martyrology and in the
Anglican Kalendars. His translation is observed on Feb. 15th or Nov.
2ist. His life was written by an anonymous author about the year 700.]

Deicolus quitted Ireland, his native country, with S. Col-
umbanus, and hved with him, first in the kingdom of the
East Angles, and afterwards at Luxeuil, the great monastery
he founded in France. When S. Columbanus was expelled
by the fierce Queen Biiinehaut and her son Thierri, King of
Burgundy, Deicolus followed him, but his strength failing
him, he was unable to continue in the companionship of the
energetic and active Columbanus ; therefore, falling at the
feet of his superior, he besought his permission to retire to
some solitude where he could serve God in tranquillity. Then
Columbanus, compassionating the exliaustion of his com-
panion, said in a fatherly tone, " God Almighty, out of love
to whom thou didst leave thy country, and hast ever obeyed
me, make us together to rejoice in the presence of His
Majesty." And when they had long clasped each other,
and had shed many tears, then the abbot blessed his follower
with these words, "The Lord give thee blessing out of Zion,
and make thee to see Jerusalem in prosperity all thy life
long." Then he hastily tore himself away weeping, and
Deicolus remained alone in Burgundy. And after he had
knelt down and commended himself to God, he turned and
went through the wild tangled thicket and waste lands, seek-
ing where he might settle. But the country was a wilderness
without habitation. Then, by chance, he lighted on a swine-
herd, who was feeding pigs on acorns in the forest ; who
was much surprised to see a stranger. But Deicolus said,
" Fear not, my brother, I am a monk. And now I beseech

-<^

-1^

January i8.] S. DeicoluS. 28 1

thee, show me a commodious spot where I may settle."
Then the swineherd mused and said, "There is no such
place in this wilderness, save a little lake we call Luthra,
with fresh springs." And when Deicolus urged him to con-
duct him thither, the swineherd said, " I cannot do so, for I
shall lose my hogs if I leave them without a keeper." But
Deicolus took his staff, and planted it in the ground, and
said, " Be without fear, my staff shall be thy substitute, and
the swine will not stray till thou retumest." Then the pig-
warden believed the word of the man of God, and he left
his swine, and guided Deicolus to the place called Luthra ;
and there there was a little chapel, dedicated to S. Martin,
built by a gentleman named Weifhardt, where service was
occasionally performed by his chaplain.^

Now Deicolus was pleased with the place, and he dwelt in
the forest, and everyday he visited the little chapel and opened
the door and went in, and there he prayed. But the priest
who served that chapel was very wroth, and he spoke to the
people, saying, " There is a man, a sort of hermit, who
haunts the woods, and he intrudes on this chapel, and uses
it, as if it were his own private property. If he be caught
here by me, I swear that I will beat him well."

Then the people choked the windows and door with
brambles and thorns, to prevent the ingress of the hermit.
Nevertheless, regardless of the impediment, he came as usual.
So the priest complained to Weifhardt, who flew into a rage,
and ordered his servants to scour the woods for Deicolus,
and when they had caught him, savagely to maltreat him.
All which they obeyed. But shortly after, the gentleman
fell sick of a most painful disorder, and when his wife, Ber-
thilda, thought that he must die, she considered that perhaps
the disease was sent in punishment for the injury done to the

^ Lure is in the diocese of Besancon, among the Vosges mountains, between
Vesoul and Belfort.

-H*

->h

282

Lives of the Saints.

Uauuary 18.

hermit. Therefore she bade her servants find him and bring
to the sick-bed. Now when Deicolus heard tliat Weifhardt
was grievously tormented, mindful of the command of Christ,
to return good for evil, he hasted and went to the castle of
the gentleman, and entered the room. And as the day was
hot, and he had walked fast, he plucked off his mantle, for he
was heated. Then the servants ran to take it from him, but
Deicolus exclaimed, " On him who serves God the elements
attend, and he needeth not the assistance of man." Then,
seeing a sunbeam shot through the window, he cast his
mantle upon it, and it rested on the sunbeam.^

And when he had prayed, the Lord healed the gentleman ;
and Berthilda gave Deicolus the farm of Luthra, and the little
chapel, and the wood adjoining. Then the hermit walked
round the land given him, and he rejoiced and cried, "This
shall be thy rest for ever; here shalt thou dwell, for thou hast
a delight therein."

Now it happened one day, as he sat reading in his cell,
that King Clothaire 11. was hunting in the forest, and his
dogs pursued a wild boar, and when the beast was hard
pressed, it rushed into the oratory of Deicolus, covered
with foam. Thereupon the hermit extended his hand, and
laid it on the boar, and said, " Believe me, because thou
hast taken refuge in the love of the brethren, thy life shall
be spared to-day." Then the hunters came up, with the
hounds, and they found the boar lying panting before the
altar, and the man of God standing at the door to protect
the beast. So the King asked Deicolus who he was, and
whence he came, and when the hermit had told him that he

' A similar story is told of S. Goar (July 6th), S. Florence (Nov. 7th), S. Amabilis
(Oct. 19th), S. Cuthmaii (l'"eb. 8th), S. David, abbot in Sweden (July isth), S. Hildevert,
B. of Meaux (May 27th), S. Robert of Chaise-Dieu, S. Cunegunda, b. Odo of Urgel,
S. Leouore, S. Lucarus of Brixen, S. Bridget, B. Utho of Metten, and the Blessed
Alruna of Altaicli. I give it for what it is worth. The story is traditional, not having
been consigned to writing for a hundred years after the death of .S. Deicolus.

January i8.J

S. Deicolus.

283

was the disciple of Columbanus, who had promised to him
in old times that he should reign over three kingdoms, which
now had come to pass, he gave to Deicolus the game in the
wood and the fish in the waters, and some vineyards. So
Deicolus gathered brethren, and built a monastery. And
after a time the abbot Deicolus became desirous of visiting
Rome, so he went with some of his brethren, and obtained
a charter from the Pope, conferring privileges on his mon-
astery. After his return he remained some years governing
his monks, ever cheerful and of amiable disposition; the joy
and peace of his soul beamed in his countenance. S. Col-
umbanus once said to him in his youth, " Deicolus, why art
thou always smiling?" He answered in simplicity, "Because
no one can take my God from me."

The year of his death is not known with certainty. It was
on the 1 8th January that he heard God's call to depart.
Then he took the Holy Sacrament, and after having com-
municated himself, he kissed all the brethren, and when he
had kissed the last he fell asleep.

Baptism and Ccnfii-mation, Ircm a i oiutrnj m the Cataccmts.

^^-

284 Lives of the Sai7ltS. [January 19.

January 19.

S. Germanicus, M., at Stinr/ia, in Asia Uliuoy, A.D. i6i.

SS. Maris, Martha, Audifax, and Habakki'k, HIM., near Rome, a.d. 270.

S. B A SSI AN, B. of Lodi, in Italy, circ. a.d. 409.

S. Catellus, D. o/CastellaJiiare, in Italv, a.d. 617.

S. Laukomar, p., Ab. of Corbion, in Ft-ance, a.d. 593.

S. Remigius, B. 0/ Rouen, circ. a.d. 771.

SS. Blaithmaic, Ab., and Companions, Monks and MM., at lona, in

Scotland, A.D. 824.
S. Canute, K. M., iti Denmark, a.d. 10S6. See July xo.
S. WuLSTAN, B. 0/ li'orcester, a.d. 1095.
S. Henry, B. M., at Upsala, in Sweden, a.d. 1150.

S. GERMANICUS, M.
(a.d. 161.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Usuardus, Ado, Notker and that
attributed to Bade, also the later ones of Maurolycus, Bellinus and Galesi-
nius, sometimes also on Feb. 18. Authority, the contemporary Epistle of
the Church of Smyrna to the Church of Pontus, describing the martyrdom
of SS. Germanicus, Polycarp, and others ; quoted by Eusebius, lib. IV,
CIS.]

j^HE Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, narrating
its sufferings under the Emperors Marcus An-
toninus and Lucius Aurelius, says: — "Ger-
manicus, a noble youth, was particularly pre-emi-
nent as a martyr, for, strengthened by divine grace, he over-
came the natural dread of death implanted in us ; although
the pro-consul was desirous of persuading him, and urged
him from consideration of his youth, that, as he was so
young and blooming, he should take compassion on him-
self. He, however, hesitated not, but eagerly irritated the
wild beast let loose upon him, that he might be the sooner
freed from this unjust and lawless generation."
The Acts of this martyr have been lost.

►J, >j«

->^

January 19.] ^. Murts a7id Conzpanions. 285

SS. MARIS, MARTHA, AUDIFAX AND HABAKKUK,

MM.

(a.d. 270.)

[Modern Roman Martyrology, but the ancient Roman Martyrology
commemorated them on Jan. 20th, so did that attributed to S. Jerome,
and many others. Authority, the authentic Acts.]

In the time of the Emperor Claudius II., there came a
man from Persia, named Maris, with his wife Martha, and
his two sons, Audifax and Habakkuk, to Rome, where they
sought out the Christians who were in prison, and ministered
to them.

At this time Claudius had given orders for the suppression
of Christianity. Two hundred and sixty Christians were
condemned to work in the sand-pits on the Salarian way;
but were afterwards brought into the amphitheatre, and were
killed with arrows, and their bodies thrown on a pyre. Maris
and his sons withdrew the bodies from the fire, and with the
assistance of a priest, named John, they buried many of them
in the catacomb on the Salarian way. And in the evening,
passing under a house, they heard singing, and they knew
that what they heard was a Christian canticle. Then they
struck at the door, and those who were within feared to
open, thinking it was the soldiers come to take them ; but
the bishop, who was with the congregation, went boldly to
the door and opened it ; then they knew that these were
Christians who stood Avithout; so they fell on their necks
and kissed them.

Now it fell out that Maris and his wife and sons were in
the house of Asterius, a new convert, on a certain occasion,
with Valentine the priest, when the soldiers entered the
house and took all within before the Emperor, who re-
manded them to Muscianus, the prefect, to be by him
sentenced according to their deserts.

^ . >j,

286 Lives of the Saints. [January 19.

Muscianus ordered Maris and his two sons to be beaten,
and then to be placed on the Uttle horse and tortured with
iron hooks and hghted torches, but Martha to stand by, and
see her husband and children tormented. As they remained
constant, he commanded their hands to be struck off.
Then Martha stooped and dipped her finger in their blood,
and signed her brow therewith. Exasperated to the last
degree, the judge ordered Maris and the two sons to be
decapitated in a sand-pit, and Martha to be drowned in a
well, all which was carried into execution.^ A pious matron,
named Felicitas, rescued the bodies, and buried them in her
farm.

S. BASSIAN, B. OF LODI.
(about a.d. 409.)

[Roman and many other Martyrologies. Double feast with octave at
Lodi. Authorities, his life by an anonymous author, of uncertain date,
also the lections for this day in the Lodi Breviary. S. Ambrose, in his 6oth
letter, speaks of S. Bassian.]

Bassian was the son of Sergius, prgefect of Syracuse, a
heathen. As a child he is said to have scrawled the sign of
the cross in the dust, and was rebuked for so doing by his
nurse. This set him wondering, and his mind turned to the
religion of the Crucified, so that when sent to Rome, at the
age of twelve, to be educated in the liberal arts, he sought
out those who reverenced that sign which his nurse had for-
bidden him to scribble. A priest, named Gordian, in-
structed the lad in the Christian faith, and finally baptized
him. As soon as his father heard of his conversion, he sent
orders to have him brought home at once. Then Bassian,
fearing the result, should he be re-conducted to Syracuse,

' At Santa Ninfa, about thirteen miles from Rome,

^ _ q-i

January 19.] S. LauHumar. 287

ran away to Ravenna. On his way occured one of those
simple and touching incidents which abound in the Uves of
the saints, and which in spite of repetition, must be related.
A stag mth her two fawns bounded into the road, the hunters
were in pursuit, the stag was not willing to desert her little
ones, and they were too young to make good their escape.
Seeing the distress of the mother, Bassian called to her, and
she came to him with her fawns, and licked his feet, as he
caressed her dappled hide. Soon after the hunters came
up, and one more impetuous than the rest, attempted to
take the stag. Then Bassian threw his arms round her
neck, and called on God to protect her. Instantly the man,
whose anger had flamed up at the resistance offered him,
fell in an apoplectic fit ; and when he recovered, withdrew
in fear, without injuring the stag.

In the reign of Valerian, Bassian was elected Bishop of
Lodi, and ruled the diocese with zeal and discretion.
He built in his Cathedral city the church of the Twelve
Aposdes, and S. Ambrose assisted in its dedication. Bassian
was with S. Ambrose when he died.

S. LAUNOMAR, AB. OF CORBION.

[S. La.nomar, called in French Latimer or Lomer, is commemorated in
the Galilean Martyrologies. His life was written Viy one who apparently
knew him, as we may conclude from certain passages therein.]

S. Laumer as a boy kept his father's sheep near Chartres ;
afterwards, having learned his letters, he heard the call of
God, and gave himself up to his service. He was ordained
priest, and entering a monastery, was appointed steward.
However, such a Ufe did not suit him, and he retired into
the forest, escaping from the monastery one stormy night,
when all the brethren were asleep, taking in his hand

>i<- ^,

-'^:-i

288

Lives of the Saints.

[January 19.

nothing save his staff. He took refuge in the depths of the
forest, where he hoped none would find him, but his sanctity
becoming known, disciples flocked to him. Two miracles
occur in his forest life very similar to those related of other
saints. One night as he prayed, the Prince of the power of
the Air, hoping to frighten him, by leaving him in the dark,
thrice extinguished his light, and thrice was it rekindled.
One day he saw a hind pursued by wolves, he ordered the
wolves to desist from pursuing the poor animal, which came
and crouched at his feet, whilst he patted it. Then he gave
the hind his blessing and dismissed it. When the number
of his disciples increased, so that he felt his solitude dis-
solved, Laumer fled away again, and hid himself in the
wood, where afterwards rose the monastery of Corbion, near
Dreux. But a city set on a hill cannot be hid, his cell of
green leaves and wattles soon became the centre of a colony
of monks, and a nobleman whose land this was, gave it to
him, that he might build thereon a monastery. One instance
of the gentleness of S. Laumer deserves not to be passed
over. During the night, some robbers stole a cow belonging
to the monks. The brethren were in despair. The robbers
however, had lost their way in the tangled forest, as they
drove the cow away, and they wandered all night and
the next day, unable to discover the road ; when, as evening
settled in, they saw the forest lighten, and they came out,
driving the cow, upon the clearing of the monastery, and S.
Laumer himself stood before them. They at once fell at
his feet, asking his pardon, and imploring him to direct
them aright ; but he raised them, and said, " I thank you,
kind friends, for finding and bringing back to me my strayed
cow; you must be very tired and hungry, follow me."
Then he led them into his hut, and set before them such
things as he had, and they ate and were refreshed, and he
set them on their right road, but of course, without the cow.

January 19.] ^'.S. Blaitkinac aiid Companioiis. 289

SS. BLAITHMAC AND COMP. MONKS, M.M.

(a.d. 824)

[Irish Martyrologies. Authority: — The Acts of S. Blaithmac written in
verse by his contemporary Walafrid Strabo, and the Irish Annals.]

S. Blaithmac was a native of Ireland, son of Flann,
perhaps one of the southern Niells, princes of Meath, the
names of Flann and Blaithmac having been common in that
family. He was heir to a principality, but he abandoned his
prospects in this world to become a monk, and afterwards
an abbot. Blaithmac had an ardent desire to visit foreign
parts, but he was prevented by his friends and companions
from leaving Ireland. At length he passed over to lona,
v/hich was shortly after invaded by a party of Northmen.
As he was anxious to receive the crown of martyrdom, he
determined to remain there whatever might happen, and by
his example induced some others to stay with him, advising
those who feared death to take refuge on the mainland.
While he was celebrating mass the Danes burst into the
church, and having slaughtered the monks, demanded of the
abbot where was the precious shrine of S. Columba. This
had been carried off and concealed underground, where the
abbot knew not. Accordingly he answered that he was igno-
rant where it was, and added that even if he had known,
he would not have pointed out the spot to them. They then
put him to death. The Ulster Annals give his martyrdom
in 825-828. The Irish annals generally agree in fixing his
death at 823 (a.d. 824). Mabillon was wrong in supposing
it took place in 793. Blaithmac is derived from Blaith, a
flower ; hence his latinized name is Florigenius or Florus.

VOL. r. 19

290

Lives of the Saints.

[Januar>' 19,

S. WULSTAN, B. OF WORCESTER.

(A.D. 1095.)

[Anglican and German and Roman Martyrologies. Authorities: his hfe
by Florence of Worcester (d. 1118),' and William of Malmesbury, written
47 years after the death of S. Wulstan ; another in Roger of Wendover, and
numerous notices in other old English historians. He is called variously
Wulstan and Wulfstan. Canonized by Innocent III, 1203.]

S. Wulstan was born in Warwickshire of pious parents.
His father's name was Ealstan, and his mother's Wulfgeova.
Both his parents were so devoted to the rehgious Hfe, that,
by mutual consent, they retired into monastic houses. In-
spired by such examples, but chiefly by his mother's per-
suasion, Wulfstan quitted the world whilst yet young, and
took the monastic habit in the same monastery in Worcester
where his father had devoted himself to the service of God.
He was there ordained deacon, and then priest, by the bishop.
Observing a very strict course of life, he soon became re-
markable for his vigils, fasting and prayers. In consequence
of his discipline of himself, he was first appointed master
of the novices, and afterwards, on account of his acquaint-
ance with the ecclesiastical services, precentor and treasurer
of the church. Being now intrusted with the custody of the
church, he embraced the opportunities it afforded him for
being almost perpetually in the sacred edifice, spending
whole nights before the altar in prayer ; and when he was
exhausted with fatigue, he lay on one of the church benches,
and placed his prayer-book beneath his head as a pillow.

After some time, on the death of the prior. Bishop Aldred
appointed Wulstan to succeed him. As prior, he preached
every Lord's Day to the people, with so great unction, that
they were moved to tears. One of the monks grumbled, and

' Florence knew S. Wulstan personally, as appears from his account of his vigils.
He says, " He sometimes went four days and nights without sleep, — a thing we
could hardly have believed, if we had not heard it from his own mouth."

Ijk. . (J,

January 19.] S. Wulstaft, 29 1

said that Wulfstan forgot his place, — it was the office of the
bishop to preach, and that of the monk to hold his tongue.
Hearing this, Wulfstan said, " My brother, the Word of God
is not bound."

Although very abstemious and moderate in his diet, he
had not refrained from meat, till one day that roast goose
was being prepared for dinner, the fragance filled the
church, and Wulstan, who was at the altar celebrating mass,
was so distracted with the delicious odour, for he was very
hungry, as it was the late choral mass, that he could not
collect his thoughts. Then, filled with shame, before he left
the altar he vowed never to touch meat again, and he kept
this vow to his dying day.

On the elevation of Aldred, Bishop of Worcester, to the
archbishopric of York, by unanimous consent of the clergy
and laity in the election of a successor, Wulstan was
chosen ; the king having granted them permission to elect
whom they pleased.

It chanced that the legates from the Pope were present at
the election, but neither they nor the clergy and people
could persuade Wulstan to accept the charge, of which he
declared himself to be unworthy. At last, being sharply re-
proved for his obstinate wilfulness by Wulfsi, a hermit, and
being strongly urged by S. Edward the Confessor, then
king, he yielded, and was consecrated on the Feast of the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1062.

As bishop, Wulstan maintained the same severity towards
himself; every day he sang the late high mass ; it being
usual for the priests to take the choral mass by weeks, in
turns, it being very trying, as the celebrant had to remain
fasting till a late hour. Wulstan not only sang the high mass
daily, but also all the canonical hours, and when he rode on
journeys, he had his book open before him on the pommel
of his saddle, and he chanted aloud the psalms of David.

>ii.

292 Lives of the Saints. [January 2<>.

As the old church and monastic buildings reared by
S. Oswald were being demolished, to make way for more
splendid edifices, Wulstan stood one day, and looked at the
roofless church, and the walls that were being torn down,
and his eyes filled with tears. " Why should you weep," said
a monk, standing by ; " you should rather laugh, to see the
meanness of the first house swept away, to make room for
a glorious second one." " No," answered Wulstan, " I see
nothing to rejoice over in the demolition of the work of oui
Saints. True, they knew not how to rear a stately building ;
but under a mean roof, tliey offered the adorable sacrifice
to God with great devotion, and set saintly examples to
their flock ; and we — we collect and carve the stones of the
material temple, and neglect the edification of that which is
spiritual — the souls of men."

Below him in church sat a curly-headed choir boy. One
day the bishop bent down, and laying his hand on the glossy
curls, said, " All these will fall off one day !" Then the boy
in alarm, turned round and said, " Oh, save my curls for
me !" " My child, do not fear, as long as I live you shall
retain your abundant hair." And so he did, for many long
years, till Wulstan died, and then, says the chronicler who
records this strange little incident, his hair came off as the
bishop had foretold.^

When William the Conqueror established himself in
P^ngland, he not only gave the lands to his Norman nobles,
but also the bishoprics to his Norman clergy. " Wulstan is
a fool, he cannot speak French !" said William, and he
ordered Lanfranc, his Norman Archbishop of Canterbury,
to depose the plain Saxon Bishop of Worcester, on the

' S. Wulstan sometimes joked ; but the specimen recorJed by Malmesbury ia
rot striking for wit, nor for its reverence, wherefore 1 give it in Latin. Being
asked why he wore lamb's wool garments in winter, instead of cat's skin like the
other clergy he answered, " Nunquam audivi cantari Cattus Dei, sed Agnus Dei;
ideo non catto, sed agno volo calefieri."

■^

January 19.] ^. WulstaU. 293

charge of ignorance. A conclave was held in Westminster
Abbey in 1074, to decide a dispute between Robert, Arch-
bishop of York, and Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury,
as to the question whether the diocese of Worcester be-
longed to the northern or the southern province, and at the
same time to deprive Wulstan. When called in question as
to his slender attainments in learning, he rose and said,
" We have not sung Sext yet. Let us chant the office first,
and I will answer afterwards."

But those around him remonstrated, saying, " Let us do
our business first, and we can sing the service afterwards ;
we shall become objects of ridicule to the king and nobles,
if we keep them waiting till we have done our office."

" No !" exclaimed Wulstan ; " the duty to God must be
done first, and then we will consider the petty disputes of
men." Having sung the service, he directly proceeded to
the council chamber. To his dependants, who were de-
sirous of withholding him, and who could not be persuaded
that their cause was not in danger, he said, " Know
for certain, that I here see the holy archbishops, Dunstan of
Canterbury and Oswald of York, defending me this day by
their prayers, and they will darken the understandings of
my gainsayers." Then he gave his benediction to a monk
who could speak Norman French, but imperfectly at best,
and ordered him to state his case for him.^

There stood the grave long-bearded Saxon bishop
arraigned for ignorance before the Norman king, and his
smooth-shaven^ Norman prelates. Wulstan, the repre-
sentative of the people, Lanfranc of the nobles ; Wulstan,
the bishop of the conquered, and Lanfranc of the con-
querors. ^Vllen the poor Saxon peasants had come to him

» So far William of Malmesbur>', who abruptly closes, saying that he will no
longer torture the patience of his readers. What follows is from Roger of
Wendover.

* Dr. Rock : Church of our Fathers, II. p. 99, plate.

* *

->J.

294

Lives of the Samts.

[Januarj- 19.

at Worcester, and had complained that these Nomian invaders
trampled down their com, and robbed them of their cattle,
and ground them down with taxes ; " They are God's
scourge, these Normans, punishing us for our sins, my
children," said Wulstan. And now he was to be deprived
of his office by these invaders, that a Norman might
occupy his stool, and shepherd with his crook the Saxon
bondsmen. The council decided, in accordance with the
royal pleasure, that Wulstan was too ignorant to deserve to
retain his see, and that therefore he must resign his pastoral
staff and ring. The ring, the token that he was wedded to
his diocese before God, that he said he would never resign,
in life or in death. " I received this ring without coveting
it, and I will bear it with me to my grave." ^ But the staff,
the token of jurisdiction, that he could be deprived of, so
rising from his place, with unruffled composure, and placid
countenance, holding his staff, he said, "Truly, my Lord
Archbishop, truly I know that I am unworthy of this honour,
nor fit to bear this burden, nor sufficient to endure the
labour. I knew this when the clergy elected me, and when
the bishops urged me, and when my own master. King
Edward, invited me. He, ^vith the authority of the
apostolic see, laid this burden on my shoulders, and
ordered me to be invested with the episcopate, by the
token of this staff. Now thou desirest of me this pastoral
staff, which thou gavest me not ; thou demandest of me
the surrender of the office thou laidest not on me. I,
indeed, am well aware of my ignorance, and yielding to the
sentence of this holy conclave, I resign my staff — not to
thee, but to him who gave it me." Saying this he went
forth from the chapter house to the tomb of S. Edward the
Confessor, and standing before the stone, he cried, " Thou
knowest, O my Master ! how reluctantly I received this

1 Roger of Wendover, and Capgrave.

-)!^

January 19.] S. IVtllstan. 295

burden, how often I fled away from it ; how, when sought,
that it might be imposed on me, I secreted myself. I
confess that I am a fool, but thou didst constrain me.
There lacked not the election of the brethren, the entreaty
of the people, the will of the bishops, the favour of the
nobles ; but none of these things weighed with me like thy
authority; it was thy will that bent mine. And now we
have a new king, a new law, a new archbishop, who found
new rights and declare new sentences. They convince thee of
error, who commanded, and me of presumption, who obeyed.
Therefore, not to them who demand, but to thee who
gavest ; not to them, fallible, walking in darkness, but to thee
who hast been led forth into the clear light of very truth,
and hast escaped out of this region of error and ignorance,
to thee I resign my staff, to thee I surrender the cure of those
thou didst commend to me, to thee I commit them in con-
fidence, knowing well thy merits."

Having said this, he slowly raised his hand a little, and
said, " My lord and king, accept this, and surrender it to
whom thou choosest !" Then he struck the staff into the
sepulchral stone, and laying aside his pontifical habit, he
seated himself, as a monk, among the monks.

Was there ever a grander incident in English Church
history? Was there ever a nobler speech uttered by an
English bishop ?

Then all, surprised, saw that the staff stood in the stone ;
and one ran and told Lanfranc, but he believed it not, and
bade Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, to whom he had
promised the bishopric of Worcester, to go and bring back
the staff. So Gundulf went, but the staff was immovably
imbedded in the stone.

Then the archbishop and the king went to the tomb, and
sought to wTench the staff from where it stood, but they
were unable. Lanfiranc at once turned, and coming

»Jc

■^

* ■ *

296 Lives of the Saints. [January 19.

straight dowTi to where the monk sat, he bowed to him, and
said, " Verily God resisteth the proud and giveth grace
unto the humble. Thy simplicity was scorned by us,
brother, but thy righteousness is made clear as the light.
Our wisdom has been brought to naught, and thy ignorance
has prevailed. Take then again that charge which we un-
advisedly deprived thee of, but which we, by our authority
and the judgment of God, commit to thee once more."

But Wulstan hesitated ; however, being urged vehemently
by those who stood by, he went to the tomb again, and
said : — " Now, my lord and king, to whose judgment I
commended myself, and to whom I resigned my staff, show
me what is thy pleasure. Thou hast preserved thine
honour, thou hast made manifest my innocence. If thine
old sentence stands, restore to me my staff; if not, yield it
to whom thou wilt !" Then he put forth his hand, and
touched the staff, and he removed it at once with ease.^

To Lanfranc and Wulstan, acting conjointly, is due the
cessation of the slave traffic in England. It was the custom
of the English to sell slaves to the Irish, and this was
subject to a tax which passed into the royal exchequer.
"The credit of this action," says Malmesbur)', " "I know
not whether to attribute to Lanfranc, or to Wulstan, who
would scarcely have induced the king, reluctant from the
profit it produced to him, to this measure, had not Lan-
franc commended it, and Wulstan, powerful through the
sanctity of his character, commended it by episcopal
authority."

Having taken the oath of allegiance to William, Wulstan
remained faithful. When, in the same year, 1074, some of
the Saxon earls rose against the Conqueror, Wulstan and

1 This most striking incident is not mentioned by Florence of Worcester, or
William of Malmesbury, but occurs in Roger of Wendover ami Matthew o(
Westminster,

» Chronicle, lib. III.

^ ^

/A -. .. ^ r-

'/K^l^^^^jsKMI^^/K^l'^^i^k^^

S. WULSTAX. BISHOP OF WORCESTER.
From a Design by A. Welby Pugin.

Jan. , p. 296.3

[Jan. 19.

January 19.] S. Wulsta7t. 297

the abbot of Evesham, supported by the sheriff of Worcester
and Walter de Lacy, prevented their junction, by raising
their vassals and occupying the ford of the Severn.^

In the Barons' revolt, 1088, " Bernard du Neuf-
Marchd, Roger de Lacy, who had lately wrested Hereford
from the king, and Ralph de Mortimer, with the vassals of
the Earl of Shrewsbury, having assembled a numerous army
of English, Normans and Welsh, burst into the province of
Worcester, declaring that they would burn the city of
Worcester, plunder the Church of God and S. Mary, and
take summary vengeance on the inhabitants for their loyalty
to the king. On hearing this, the reverend father Wulstan,
Bishop of Worcester, a man of deep piety and dove-like
simplicity, beloved alike by God and the people he
governed, faithful to the king as his earthly lord, was in great
tribulation ; but soon rallying, by God's mercy, prepared to
stand manfully by his people and city. While they anned
themselves to repel the enemy, he poured forth supplications
in the impending danger, exhorting his people not to
despair. Meanwhile, the Normans, taking counsel, entreated
the bishop to remove from the church into the castle,
saying that his presence there would give them more se-
curity, if they were in great peril, for they loved him much.
Such was his extraordinary kindness of heart, that from
duty to the king, and regard for them, he assented to their
request.

" Thereupon, the bishop's retainers made ready, and the
garrison and the whole body of citizens assembled, declar-
ing that they would encounter the enemy on the other side
of the Severn, if the bishop would give them leave. Taking
their arms, and being arrayed for balde, they met the
bishop, as he was going to the castle, and besought him to
grant their desire, to which he freely assented. ' Go,' said

1 Florence of Worcester.
1^ (J.

298

Lives of the Saints.

January 19,

he, ' My sons, go in peace, go in confidence, with God's
blessing and mine. Trusting in God, I promise you that no
sword shall hurt you this day. Be loyal, and do valiantly
for the safety of the people and the city.'" The victory
was complete. The rebels were routed, and the king's
liege-men and the bishop's retainers returned home in
triumph, without the loss of a single man.^

He died in the year 1095, on January the 19th, and was
buried with his ring on his finger. " God suffered no man
to remove from his finger the ring with which he had
received episcopal consecration," says Florence of Wor-
cester ; " that the holy man might not appear to forfeit his
engagement to his people, to whom he had often protested
that he would not part with it during his life, nor even on
the day of his burial."

' Florence of Worcester.

83. Fabian'and Sebastian. Jan. 20.

* ^

jaiuiar)- 30.] S. Fabia7i. 299

January 20. '

S. Fabian, Pope and M., at Rome, a.d. 250.

S. Sebastian, 71/., at Rome, a.d. 303.

S. EuTHVMius THE Great, Ab. in Palestine, a.d. 473.

S. Fechin, Ab., at Fore, in Ireland, a.d. 665.

S. Maur, B. o/Cesena, in Italy, tniddle 0/ Tth cent.

S. Benedict, H., near Fiesole, in Italy.

S. FABIAN, POPE AND M., AT ROME.
(a.d. 250.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authorities : Eusebius, lib. vi. c. 29 and 39 ;
the Liber de Romanis Pontificibus ; S. Jerome, hb. de Eccles. Script.
c. 54 ; a letter of S. Cyprian (55) to Cornelius, &c.]

[AINT FABIAN succeeded Anteros in the see

of Rome. It is said that Fabian had come

to Rome out of the country, and, by divine

grace, he was singled out in a very remarkable

manner to be bishop. For, when all the brethren had

assembled in the church for the purpose of ordaining

him that should succeed in the episcopate, though there

were many eminent and illustrious men present, yet no

one thought of any but Fabian. They relate that a dove,

suddenly fluttering down, rested upon his head, bringing

up before their minds the scene when the Holy Spirit of

old came down on the Saviour. Thereupon the whole

body exclaimed mth one voice, as if moved by the Spirit

of God, " He is worthy ! " ^ and without delay they took

him and placed him upon the episcopal throne.

1 This was the common acclamation at the election of bishops, of which wc
have many examples in Philostorgius, lib. ix. c. 10. And in the relation of things
done at the election of Eradius (recorded in S. Augustine's Epistles), we read that
they cried out twenty times, "He is worthy and justl" and five times, "He is
deserving, he is worthy t"

• busebius, lib. vi. c. 29,

!^^

300

Lives of the Saints.

[January 20.

S. Fabian governed the Church of Rome for sixteen
years. He is said by some to have converted and
baptized the Emperor PhiUp. " PhiUp, after a reign of
seven years," says Eusebius, "was succeeded by Decius,
who, in consequence of his hatred to PhiUp, raised a
persecution against the Church, in which Fabian suffered
martyrdom, and was succeeded, as Bishop of Rome, by
ComeHus."'

Rehcs, in the churches of S. Martin de la Monte, S.
Praxedes, a head and an arm in that of S. Sebastian, in
Rome.

In art, he appears with the pontifical tiara and a dove.

S. SEBASTIAN, M., AT ROME.
(a.d. 303.)

[All the ancient Latin Martyrologies. The Greeks commemorate him on
December i8th. The original Acts are not in our possession. What is
regarded as tlie Acts appears to be a panegyric, falsely attributed to
S. Ambrose, on S. Sebastian's Day. The incidents are possibly taken
from the original Acts, but the long sermons and theological instructions
put into the mouths of S. Sebastian and Tranquillinus, are certainly ora-
torical compositions of the author who passes for S. Ambrose.]

S. Sebastian was born at Narbonne, in Gaul, but his
parents were of Milan, in Italy, and he was brought up in
that city. He was a fervent soldier of Christ at the same
time that he served in the army of the Emperor. He was
so greatly regarded by the Emperors Diocletian and Maxi-
mian, that he was elevated to the command of the first
cohort, for he was a man prudent, upright in word and act,
faithful in business, fervent in spirit. He was enabled, by
his rank and office, to be of service to those who were im-

' Ibid. c. 30,

(J, ^ ^

January 20.J S. SebastiaTl. 3OI

prisoned for the faith of Christ. He reUeved their sufferings,
and urged them to constancy.

Two brothers, Marcus and MarceUianus, had been
accused of being Christians, and were expecting execution
in prison, when their friends, admitted to see them, im-
plored them with tears to save their lives by apostasy. They
seemed to waver; they promised to deliberate. Sebastian
heard of this, and rushed to save them. He was too well
known to be refused admittance, and he entered their
gloomy prison as an angel of light.

Tranquillinus, the father of the two youths, had obtained
from Agrestius Chromatins,^ prefect of the city, a respite of
thirty days for them, to try their constancy ; and, to second
his efforts, they had been placed in the house of Nicostratus,
the keeper of the records (primiscriniiis).

Sebastian's was a bold and perilous office. Besides the
two Christian captives, there were gathered in the place
sixteen heathen prisoners; there were the parents of the
unfortunate youths weeping over them, to allure them from
their threatened fate ; and there was the magistrate, Nicos-
tratus, with his wife Zoe, drawn thither by the compassion-
ate wish of seeing the youths snatched from their fate.
Could Sebastian hope that of this crowd not one would be
found whom a sense of official duty, or a hope of pardon,
or hatred of Christianity, might impel to betray him, if he
avowed himself a Christian?

The room was illumined only by an opening in the roof,
and Sebastian, anxious to be seen by all, stood in the ray
which shot through it ; strong and brilliant where it beat, but
leaving the rest of the apartment dark. It broke against
the gold and jewels of his rich tribune's armour, and as he
moved, scattered itself in brilliant reflections into the darkest

1 Tliis name presents a difficulty, as it does not appear in the lists of the prefects
of the city. Bollandus suggests, not very plausibly, that on account of his secession
from the state religion, his name was expunged.

>h-

— *

3o:

Lives of the Saints.

[January 20.

recesses of the gloom ; while it beamed with serene steadi-
ness on his uncovered head.^

"O most happy soldiers of Christ, valiant warriors in
the fight 1 are ye now, after having undergone so much that
ye touch the palm, are ye now, I ask, about to withdraw
from the fight and lay aside the crown, overcome by these
blandishments? Let them see in you the fortitude of
Christian soldiers, sheathed rather in fortitude than in
armour of iron. Can it be that you will cast away the
rewards of victory at the instigation of a woman ? Can it be
that half-conquering already, you will bow your necks to be
trampled on by the deadly foe ?" Words of reproach and
threatening and promise poured from his lips.'

The scene that followed baffles description. All were
moved ; all wept. Marcus and Marcellianus were ashamed
of their late hesitation. Tranquillinus and his wife were
convinced ; the prisoners joined in the tumult of these new
affections ; and Sebastian saw himself surrounded by a group
of men and women smitten by grace, softened by its in-
fluences, and subdued by its power ; yet all was lost if one
remained behind. He saw the danger, not to himself, but
to the Church, if a sudden discovery were made, and to
those souls fluttering in uncertain faith.

Zoe knelt before Sebastian with a beseeching look and
outstretched arm, but she spoke not a word, for, six years
before, her tongue had been paralysed in a severe sickness,
and she had not spoken since. Sebastian looked at her
earnestly, and read in her signs, and the expression of her

1 This is H. E. Cardinal Wiseman's elegant description ot the scene, which
accords exactly with the Acts. This incident is not due to his imagination, but oc-
curs in the Acts in these words : — " Igitur, cum hsc Beatissimus Sebastianus, in-
dutus chlamyde, succinctus baltheo, ex suo ore proferret, subito per unam fere horam
splendore nimio de coelo veniente illuminatus est."

2 In the version of the Acts by S. Ambrose, the whole lengthy exhortation is
given. This can hardly, however, be original, but is the composition of the author
who passes for S. Ambrose.

.J<

* Ij,

January 20.] S. Sebastiafi. 303

countenance, that she believed in her heart. Then he
asked wherefore she spoke not, and it was told him that she
was dumb. Then, raising his hand and signing her mouth
with a cross, he said, " If I am the true servant of Christ,
and those things are true which I have spoken, and thou
O, woman, hast heard, may the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom
I believe, restore the use of thy tongue, and open thy
mouth, as he opened the mouth of his prophet Zachariah."
Then suddenly the woman cried out : — "Blessed art thou,
and blessed is the word of thy mouth, and blessed are they
that believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God." And
when Nicostratus saw tlie grace of God revealed by the
healing of his wife, he fell at the feet of Sebastian, and
offered to break the chains off the hands and feet of the
confessors, and let them go ; but to this they would not con-
sent. Then Nicostratus transferred them all, with Tranquil-
linus and his wife, to the full liberty of his house, after
having obtained leave from Claudius the keeper of the
prisons ( Cof)imejitarie?isis.) Sebastian lost no time in put-
ting them under the care of the priest Polycarp, of the title,
or parish of S. Pastor, who diligently instructed them, night
and day. In the meantime, Claudius, the gaoler, came to
the house of Nicostratus, and said, " The prefect is much
disturbed at my having allowed the prisoners to be in your
house ; and therefore he requires you to appear before him
and explain the reason."

Nicostratus at once went to the prefect, and told him tliat
he had taken the Christian prisoners into his own house,
with the purpose of moving them the more easily to apos-
tasy. " You did well," said Chromatins, and he dismissed
him. On his way home, the keeper of the rolls told Clau-
dius the truth ; and when he related how Sebastian had
healed his wife, Claudius exclaimed in an agony of eager-
ness : — *' Send him to my house, I have two lads, sons of my

304 Lives of the Saints. [January 20.

first wife, one dropsical, the other a poor wretched cripple.
If he cured your wife, he can heal my sons." Then run-
ning home, he brought his two boys, one in each arm, to
the house of Nicostratus, and introduced them into the com-
pany of the neophytes, and casting the boys in the midst,
implored the disciples to recover his poor children, and de-
claring that he believed with all his heart. Then Polycarp,
the priest, took the names of the whole company, they were
sixty-eight in all, and he baptized them. Now when the two
boys rose from the baptismal water, they were healed of their
infirmities; and Tranquillinus, who had suffered excruciating
torments from the gout, also felt that he was made whole.

Chromatius, the prefect, was afterwards converted, and
having resigned his office, retired into privacy.

The care which Sebastian took of the Christian prisoners,
and the efforts he made to stimulate their courage, could
not long remain secret; and he was denounced to the
Emperor Diocletian, who sent for him, and in a rage,
exclaimed, " What ! I have had thee about my person, and
thou hast conspired against my safety !"

S. Sebastian answered, " I pray daily for thy safety and
for the prosperity of the state, to the God of heaven, for I
reckon no succour can be got from gods of stone."

Then Diocletian ordered him to be taken out into a field,
and be shot to death with arrows. Therefore the soldiers
placed him as their mark, and left him for dead, bristling
with arrows. But a certain woman, named Irene, the widow
of the martyr Castulus, finding that he still lived, took him
to her lodgings, at the head of the great staircase of the
palace, and there nursed him till he was convalescent. And
one day, as he began to walk, the Emperor passed. Then
he started out to the head of the stairs. He had heard the
familiar tmmpet notes, which told him of the Emperor's
approach, and he had risen, and crept to greet him.

>f( _ ^

S. SEBASTIAN'.
From a Drawing bv Lucas S.chraudolf.

Ian., p. 304.]

[Jan. 2c

^ . ^

Januaryio.l S. EutkyminS. 3O5

" Diocletian!" he cried out, in a hollow but distinct voice;
" False are the words of thy idol priests, my sovereign, who
say that we Christians are adversaries to the state; who
cease not to pray for thy welfare and that of the realm."

" What !" exclaimed the Emperor ; "Art thou Sebastian?"
" I am Sebastian, raised as from death to witness against
thee for thy cruel persecution of the servants of Christ."

Then the Emperor, in a rage, ordered him to be taken
into the court-yard of the palace, and to be beaten to death
with clubs, and his body to be cast into the sewer.

And when all this had been done, a devout woman,
named Lucina, by night rescued the body from the place
where it had been cast, and buried it reverently in her own
garden.

A church was afterwards built over his relics by Pope
Damasus.

Patron of Chiemsee, Mannheim, Getting, Palma, Rome,
Soissons ; of makers of military laces, of archers, makers
of fencing foils.

Relics, at Soissons, the head at Etemach, in Luxemburg,
portions at Mantua, at Malaga, Seville, Toulouse, Munich,
Paris, Tournai, in the Cathedral; Antwerp, in the church of
the Jesuits ; and at Brussels, in the Court Chapel.

In art, can always be recognized as a young man, trans-
fixed with arrows.

S. EUTHYMIUS THE GREAT, AB.

(a.d. 473.)

[Greek and Latin, and Syriac Martyrologies. Authority, his life by
Cyrillus, monk of his monaitery, in 543, sixty years after the death of
Euthymius ; he derived much of his information from an old monk who had
been the disciple of the Saint.]

There was a man named Paul, with his wife Dionysia, at
Melitene in Armenia, good Christians, loving one another,
VOL. I. 20

306

Lives of the Saints.

[January 20.

but childless. Then, with one consent, they entered into
the church of the Martyr Polyeuctus, and abode there
many days instant in prayer, that they might be given a
son.

And after this had continued some time, in a vision of
the night, the martyr appeared to them, and said, "Your
prayer is heard, now therefore depart in peace ; and when
the child is bom, let him be named Euthymius, or the
' Well disposed.' "

Now it fell out, that shortly after the child's birth, Paul
died. Then Dionysia, the widow, took her babe, and went
to her brother Eudoxius, the chaplain or confessor to the
Bishop of Melitene, and gave the little boy to him, as
Hannah presented Samuel to Eli, that he should minister
before the Lord.

After that, Dionysia was ordained deaconess, and in due
course Euthymius received the sacred orders of lector, and
sub-deacon, and finally was made priest, and appointed to
the oversight of all the monasteries in the diocese.

Euthymius often visited the church of S. Polyeuctus, and
loving solitude, was wont to spend whole nights in prayer
on a neighbouring mountain. But the love of being alone
with God grew upon him, so that he could not rest, and at
the age of twenty-nine, he secretly deserted his native place,
and went to Jerusalem, where he visited the holy places ;
and then retired into the desert, near the Laura of Paran,^
he found a cell in every way convenient, and there he
abode. Now there was a monk near his cell, named
Theoctistus, and him Euthymius loved greatly, for he was
a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost. " The love of the
same things," says his biographer; "and society in labour,
united them so closely in the bond of charity, and to such

1 A I^ura was a colony of eremites dwelling in separate hovels or caves, and
cliflFered in this particular from a monastery, where all dwelt under one roof.

_,J,

January 20.] S. Euthy77liuS, 3O7

an extent were their spirits blended in afifection, that each
was, as it were, planted in the heart of the other."

After five years spent in Paran, Euthymius resolved, with
his friend Theoctistus, to fly into a solitude, more remote.
So they went away into the barren mountains, near the Dead
Sea ; and there, searching for a place where they might
dwell, they discovered a ravine, down which a torrent
poured, and in the face of the rock was a cave. Then they
entered into it and there they abode, living on vegetables,
and drinking the water of the brook. Now it fell out, one
day, that some shepherds came that way, and ascending to
the cavern looked in, and were frightened when they saw
two men, very haggard, with long beards. But Euthymius
bade them be of good cheer, for they were hermits who
dwelt there on account of their sins. Then the shepherds
noised it abroad, and many disciples came to them, and
they built a monastery, and Euthymius appointed Theoc-
tistus to rule over it ; and then he retired, loving solitude,
into a remote hermitage, whence he issued forth only on the
Sabbath (Saturday) and the Sunday, He enjoined on the
monks to be diligent in work, and never to allow their hands
to be idle. " For," said he, "if men in the world labour to
support themselves, their wives, families and children, how
much rather we, who have the poor depending upon us."

Having cured Terebon, the son of Aspebetes, of paralysis,
which afflicted one side of his body, Aspebetes, chief of the
Arabs in Palestine, desired baptism, and took the name of
Peter. Such multitudes of Arabs followed his example, that
Juvenal, patriarch of Jerusalem, ordained him bishop of the
wandering tribes, and he assisted at the council of Ephesus
against Nestorius, in 431.

He built S. Euthymius a Laura on the right hand of the
road from Jerusalem to Jericho, in the year 420. Euthymius
could never be prevailed upon to depart from his rule of

^ ij(

1^-

3o8

Lives of the Saints.

[January 20.

Strict solitude ; but he governed his monks by superiors to
whom he gave directions on Sundays.

" Do not suppose," said he to his monks, " that you come
into the desert to leave temptation behind you." And then
he related to them the following story. There was in Egypt
a man afflicted with a very violent temper. So he ran away
from his home into a monastery, where he thought he would
be free from incentives to anger. But there he was fre-
quently irritated by the other monks who, unintentionally,
gave him annoyance. So he determined to escape wholly
from the society of men, and then said he, I cannot give
way, for I shall never be tempted. So he took with him
only an earthenware bowl, out of which to drink, and he
hid himself in a remote desert.

Now, one day, he was fetching water from the spring, and
he upset the bowl, and the water fell ; then he dipped the
vessel again, and as he was going, his foot tripped, and
again the water was spilt ; he dipped it once more, but his
hand shook, and he overturned the basin a third time. Then,
flaming into a furious passion, he dashed the bowl against a
stone, and shivered it to fragments. And when his anger
cooled down, he looked at his shattered bowl, and said,
" Oh fool that I am ! how can I escape the temptation
which is in my nature ! If I have not men to be angry with
I rage against an earthen pot !"

There was a man in the Laura, named Auxentius, whom
the steward told to attend upon the mules, for " he was apt
at mule-grooming." But Auxentius indignantly refused,
saying, he came to the monastery to be a monk, and not an
ostler. And when he constantly refused, on the next
Lord's Day, the steward complained to Euthymius, who sent
for the man. Then Euthymius said, " My son, it is neces-
sary that some one of the brethren should attend to the
stables. Why shouldst not thou do this ?"

lit *

Januaiyio.] kS'. ElUJiymiuS. 3O9

" Because," answered Auxentius, " I don't like it"

" Alas," exclaimed the abbot ; " I see thou art not imi-
tating Him who said, I came not to do mine o\vn will,
1 came not to be ministered to, but to minister."

"WTien the monk still refused, Euthymius said sadly,
*' Well, go thy way, and see if self-will will make thee
happy."

And presently the man fell ill, and in his sickness his
conscience smote him, and he sent for the abbot, and he
said, " I was ^vrong, I will look to the mules."

Then Euthymius healed him, and Auxentius did as was
required of him.

S. Euthymius showed great zeal against the Nestorian
and Eutychian heretics. The turbulent Empress Eudocia,
after the death of her husband, Theodosius, retired into
Palestine, and there continued to favour them with her pro-
tection. Aroused by domestic affliction, the captivity of her
daughter and grand-daughters, and the plunder of Rome, she
sent to ask advice of S. Simeon Stylites. He answered that
her misfortunes were the consequence of her sins, and espe-
cially of her having persecuted the orthodox faith; and
ordered her to follow the direction of Euthymius. By the
advice of S. Euthymius, she renounced Eutychianism, and
embraced the Catholic communion. In 459, she sent
word to Euthymius that she was coming to see him, and
that she designed settling on his Laura sufficient revenues
for its subsistence. He returned her answer that she need
not do so, and that she must prepare for death. She
obeyed, and died shortly after. One ot the last disciples of
our Saint was the young S. Sabas, whom he dearly loved. In
the year 473, on the 13th January, Martyrius and Elias, two
monks, to whom S. Euthymius had foretold that they should
become patriarchs of Jerusalem, came A\ath several others to
visit him, and to conduct him to his Lent retreat in a

*^-

310

Lives of the Samts.

[^January 20,

solitary place. He said that he would stay with them
all that week, and leave them on the Saturday following,
meaning, by death. Three days after, he gave orders that a
general vigil should be observed on the eve of S. Anthony's
Day ; on this he made a discourse to his spiritual children.
He appointed Elias to be his successor, and foretold that
Domitian, a beloved disciple, who had long ministered to
him, should follow him out of this world, on the seventh
day, which happened accordingly. Euthymius died on
Saturday, the 20th of January, being ninety-five years old,
of which he had spent sixty-eight in his beloved deserts.

S. FECHIN, AB. OF FORE.

(a.d. 665.)

[Authority, a life written in the 12th century, from tradition. Like
so many of these Irish hves which were handed down from generation to
generation, it contains many improbabilities.]

S. Fechin was abbot of Foure, in West Meath, where he
governed three hundred monks. He is said to have pitied
the monks engaged in grinding their corn in querns, he
therefore brought water from a marsh to the monastery, by
cutting a tunnel through the rock, and then established a
water mill. Of this Giraldus Cambrensis relates the follow-
ing -.—There is a mill at Foure, which S. Fechin made most
miraculously with his own hands, in the side of a certain
rock. No women are allowed to enter either this mill or
the church of the saint; and the mill is held in as much
reverence by the natives as any of the churches dedicated to
him.^ The Saint finding a poor leper, full of sores one day,
took him to the Queen, and bade her minister to him as to

* Topography of Ireland, c. 53.

January 20.]

6^. Fechin.

311

Christ. She bravely overcame her repugnance, and tended
him with gentle care.^ Fechin was the son of Coelcharna,
descendant of Eochad Fionn, brother to the famous king
Conn of the Hundred Battles, and his mother Lassair was of
the royal blood of Munster. When fit to be sent to school
he was placed under S. Nathy of Achonry. Having finished
his studies he was ordained priest, and retired to a solitary
place at Fore in Westmeath, there to live as a hermit. But
he was followed by many disciples, and Fore became a
monastery of three hundred monks. He also established a
religious house in the island of Immagh, near the coast of
Galway. The inhabitants were then pagans, but Fechin and
his monks converted them. His influence was very great
with the kings and princes of his age. He died of a dread-
ful pestilence which swept Ireland in a.d. 665.

' Here occurs a very favourite incident in the lives of these Irish saints ; it shall
be given in Latin. The same is told of S. Mochna and others. " Leprosus ad
Reginam dixit : Nares meas in ore tuo suge, et phlegma inde extrahe. At ilia
vinliter agens, sicut imperavit fecit, et phlegma in Imteum posuit ; iterum quoque
ei mandavit, ut similiter faceret, et id quod extraheret, S. Fechino reservaret."
When the Queen looked into the handkerchief, she found two clots of solid gold,
one of which she retained, the other she gave to S. Fechin. The incident I give
as characteristic, rather than edifying.

An Irish life has been recovered in MS. of 1329, and published by Whitley Stokes,
in the " Revue Celtique" for 1891, pp. 31S-53.

The Peacock as a Cliristian Emblem.

312

Lives of the Saints.

[January ai.

January 21.

SS. Fructuosus, 5. M., Ai'gurius, and Eulogius, DD., MM., at Tat-tagona,

in Spain, ad. 259.
S. Patroclus, M., at Troyes, in France, circ. a.d. 272.
S. Agnes, /'. M., at Rome, circ. a.d. 303.
S. Ei'ii'HANius, B. of Pavia, in Italy, A.D. 496.
S. Meinkad, H. M., at Einsiedeln, in Switzerland, A.D. 861.

SS. FRUCTUOSUS, B. M., AUGURIUS AND EULO-
GIUS, DD., MM.

(a.d. 259.)

[Roman Martyrology, those of Usuardus, Bede, Notker, Ado, &c. Tht
perfectly genuine Acts, which are extant, were read in the Church on this
day, as S. Augustine testifies in his sermon for their commemoration.]

^ALERIAN and Gallienus being emperors, ^ ^mi
lian and Bassus consuls, on January i6th, beinc

the Lord's-day, Fructuosus, tlie Bishop, Augurius
and Eulogius, the deacons, were taken. Fruc-
tuosus was in bed, but hearing the tramp of the officers, he
rose at once and went out bare-foot.- To whom the soldiers
said, " Come, the governor wants thee and thy deacons."
Fructuosus said, '• Let us go, but please, let me put on my
shoes." The soldiers said, " As thou desirest, shoe thyself"
As soon as they were come, they were put into prison.
Fructuosus, certain and glorying in the crown of the Lord,
to which he was called, prayed without ceasing. There
were also with him some of the brethren, praying him to
have them in remembrance. Next day, he baptized in the
prison our brother Rogatian. And they were six days in

1 This account is a translation of the Acts; it is a very fair specimen of the
original documents as written by the Church notaries at the time. The style
being too simple to please the taste of later ages, too many of them were re-written
in florid diction, and long speeches were put in the martyrs' mouths.

* One reading is insoluius, another in soleii.

->&

January 21.] S. Fvuctuosus mid Cotftpanio^is. 313

prison, and then were brought forth. It was on the 21st
January, and a Friday, that they were heard. ^miUan, the
governor, said, " Let Fructuosus, the Bishop, Augurius and
Eulogius be brought forward." According to custom it was
said, " They are here." ^miUan, the governor, said to
Fructuosus, the Bishop, " Hast thou heard what the Em-
perors have ordered !" Fructuosus, the Bishop, said, " I do
not know what their orders are ; I am a Christian." v^mihan
said, " They have ordered that the gods be worshipped."
Fructuosus said, "I worship one God, who made heaven
and earth, the sea and all that therein is." ^milian said,
" Do you know that there are many gods ?" The Bishop
said, " No, I do not." " Then thou soon shalt," said the
governor. Fructuosus, the Bishop, looked up to the Lord,
and began to pray within himself, ^milian said, "Wlio
will be heard, who feared, who adored, if the gods and the
countenance of the Emperor are despised?" Then he said
to Augurius, the deacon, " Don't listen to the words of
Fmctuosus." Augurius answered, " I worship the Almighty
God." ^milian, the governor, said to Eulogius, the deacon,
" Dost thou not worship Fructuosus?" " By no means," said
Eulogius, "but I worship the same God as does Fructuosus."
^^milian said to Fructuosus, " Art thou a Bishop?" Fruc-
tuosus answered, " I am." " You were one," said the
Governor, and he ordered them to be burnt alive.

And when Fructuosus, the Bishop, and his deacons, were
led into the amphitheatre, the people began to mourn for
Fructuosus, for he was greatly beloved, not by the brethren
only, but also by the heathen. For he was a vessel of elec-
tion and a teacher of the people. And .when some, in
brotherly charity, offered them a spiced cup to drink, he
said, " The hour of breaking fast is not yet come." For it
was the fourth hour, though indeed they had solemnly cele-
brated the station (fast) on the fourth day (Wednesday) in

>i<-

314

Lives of the Saints.

[January 21.

the prison. Therefore joyously on the sixth day (Friday)
they hastened to conclude this station (fast) with prophets
and martyrs in Paradise. And when they had come to the
amphitheatre, one, named Augustalis, a lector, ran to him,
with tears, beseeching him to suffer him to unloose his shoes.
But the blessed martyr said, " Stand aside, I can put off my
OAvn shoes." And when he had done so, our brother and
fellow-soldier, Felix, went up to him, and took his right hand,
asking him to remember him.^ To him S. Fructuosus
replied in a clear voice, so that all heard, " It behoves me
to hold in mind the whole Catholic Church, extending from
east to west." Then, as he was in the gate of the amphi-
theatre, ready to advance to his unfading crown, rather than
to his pains, as the officers saw, and the brethren heard, and
the Holy Spirit urged and spake, Fructuosus the Bishop,
exclaimed, " A pastor will not be lacking to you, nor will the
love and promises of the Lord fail, now or hereafter. This
which ye behold is the infirmity of one hour." And when
the bands wherewith their hands were tied had been burnt
through, rejoicing, they cast themselves on their knees, sure
of the resurrection, and having formed the sign of victory,"
they poured forth their souls, praying to the Lord.

The brethren, sad as if bereft of a shepherd, endured their
solitude ; not that they lamented Fructuosus, but rather they
desired to be mindful of the faith and passion of each.
When night came, they hastened to the amphitheatre with
wine, with which to extinguish the charred bodies, which
being done, they collected the ashes of the martyrs, and
each carried away a portion. But neither in this did the
marvellous works of the Lord fail; that the faith of the
believers might be stimulated, and an example might be

' That is, to intercede for him when he, the martyr, stood in the presence o(
Christ in Paradise.
» That is, extending their arms, so tliat they formed the symbol of the Cross.

Janaary 21.I ^. PatVOCluS. 3 I 5

given to the little ones. After his passion, Fructuosus ap-
peared to the brethren, and exhorted them to restore, with-
out delay, what each had carried off of the ashes, out of
love, that they might be laid altogether in one place.^

Fructuosus in Spanish Frutos, in French Fruteux.

Patron of Taragona.

Relics, in the Benedictine monastery, near the Porto Fino,
at Genoa; some portions, however, in the church of S. Mon-
tana, at Barcelona.

S. PATROCLUS, M.

(about a.d. 272.)

[From the Acts published by Bollandus, an early recension of the original
Acts.]

When the Emperor Aurelian was in Gaul, he came to
Troyes, and hearing that there was a Christian there, named
Patroclus, he ordered him to be brought before him, when
the following examination was had of him : —

Aurelian — "What is thy name?" He answered, "I am
called Patroclus."

Aurelian — " What is thy religion, or, what God dost thou
worship ?"

Patroclus — " I adore the living and true God, who in-
habits heaven, and regards the humble, and knows all things
or ever they are done."

Aurelian — "Give up this nonsense, and adore and serve
our Gods, from whom you will derive honour and riches."

Patroclus — " I will adore only the true God, who made
all things visible and invisible."

Aurelian — " Dispute of those things which you say are
true."

' Slightly abbreviated from the Acts.
1^ »j<

3i6

Lives of the Saints.

[January ji.

Patrocius—'^'Vho?,G. things which I declare are true and
probable ; but I know why falsehood hates the truth."

Aurelian — " I will bum you alive if you will not sacrifice
to the gods."

Patrodus — " I offer the sacrifice of praise, and myself as
a living victim to God who has deigned to call me to
martyrdom."

Then Aurelian commanded — " Put fetters on his feet,
and hot manacles on his hands, and cudgel him on the
back, and then shut him up in a privy cell, until I make up
my mind what is to be done with him."

Then Patroclus was given into custody to one Elegius
until the third day. And when he was brought forth again to
be examined, Aurelian greeted him with, "Well, despiser, hast
thou thought better of it, and art thou ready to sacrifice ?"

Patroclus — "The Lord delivereth the souls of his
servants, and will not forsake them that hope in Him. If
thou desirest anything out of my treasures, I will freely give
it thee, for, believe me, thou art poor."

Aurelian — " I, poor !"

Patrodus — "Thou hast earthly wealth, but art poor in
faith of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Aurelian — " Enough of this. Our gods are mighty."

Patrodus— ''^Nho are they?"

Aurelian — "First Apollo, the chief ;^ then Jove, the
great god ; and Diana, the mother of the gods."^

Patrodus — " Why, how can they be almighty, when
Apollo kept sheep for Admetus, and Jove died of a pain in
his belly ; and as for your Diana, every one knows she is the
noon-tide demon."

Then Aurelian, inflamed with rage, ordered Patroclus to
be taken to a marshy place, and to be there executed. But
when the soldiers led him to the bank of the Seine, which

' Aurelian was a special votary of the sun.

* There is some blunder here.

<^-

T^t

-A/.S=

S. AGNES.
I'Vom the \'ienna Missal.

Jan., p. 31 6.]

[Jnn.

January 31.]

317

had overflowed, Patroclus escaped from them across the
river, and took refuge on a hill dedicated to idol worship.
Here a woman saw him, and she went straightway and told the
soldiers. Then they came upon him, and smote off his head.
S. Patroclus in France is called S. Pari-e. He is one of
the Patrons of Troyes.

S. AGNES, V. M.

(about A.D. 303.)

[Roman Martyrology, modern Anglican Kalendar, and Greek Mengea.
The Greeks commemorate her on Jan. 14th, 21st, and July 5th. Her Acts,
attributed to S. Ambrose, are fabulous. S. Ambrose refers to S. Agnes
in lib. I. De Virginibus, and in his Commentary on Ps. civ., and in lib. I.
c. 4 of his offices. There is also a hymn of Prudentius, relating the Acts
of this famous martyr. The Acts are a fraudulent composition purporting
to be by S. Ambrose, and also pretending to be based on ancient docu-
ments.]

S. Jerome says that the tongues and pens of all nations
are employed in the praises of this Saint, who overcame
both the cruelty of the tyrant, and the tenderness of her
age, and crowned the glory of chastity with that of martyr-
dom.^ S. Augustine observes that her name signifies chaste
in Greek, and a lamb in Latin. She has been always looked
upon in the Church as a special patroness of purity. We
learn from S. Ambrose and S. Augustine, that she was only
thirteen years old at the time of her death. She suffered in
the persecution of Diocletian. Her riches and beauty
excited one the young nobles of Rome, the son of the prefect
of the city, to attempt to gain her hand in marriage. To him
she answered, " I am already engaged to one — to him alone
I keep my troth."- And when he asked further, her answer
was, " He has already pledged me to Him by his betrothal
ring, and has adorned me with precious jewels. He has

' S. Hieron, Ep. 6.

• S. August. Serm. 274.

^ _ ^

318 Lives of the Saints. [January ju

placed a sign upon my brow that I should have no other lover
but he. He has showed me incomparable treasures, which he
has promised to give me if I persevere. Honey and milk have
I drawn from His lips, and I have partaken of His body, and
with His blood has he adorned my cheeks. His mother is
a virgin, and His father knew not woman. Him the angels
serve. His beauty sun and moon admire ; by His fragrance
the dead are raised, by His touch the sick are healed. His
wealth never fails, and His abundance never grows less. For
Him alone do I keep myself. To Him alone in true con-
fidence do I commit myself Whom loving I am chaste,
whom touching I am clean, whom receiving I am a virgin."

The youth repulsed, and filled with jealousy against the
unknown lover, complained to the father of Agnes, who was
much disturbed, doubting whether she were mad, or had
given her heart to some one \vithout his knowing it. By
degrees it transpired that Agnes was a Christian. There-
upon Symphronius,^ the governor, sent for her parents, and
they, alarmed for her safety, urged her to submit, and marry
the young man. She, however, constantly refused, declaring
that she desired to remain a virgin. "Very well," said the
Governor ; " then become a vestal virgin, and serve the
goddess in celibacy."

" Do you think," answered Agnes, " that if I have
refused your living son, of flesh and blood, that I shall dedi-
cate myself to gods of senseless stone ?"

" Be not headstrong," said Symphronius \ " you are only
a child, remember, though forward for your age."

1 Here a difficulty occurs. There is no such name in the lists of the prefects of
the city. According to this account, he transferred to the deputy, Aspasius,
the duty of sentencing her. In some accounts he is called Aspasius Paternus. A
Paternus was prefect of the city in 264 and 265 ; an Ovinius Paternus in 281.
Aspasius Paternus, pro-consul of Africa, in or about 260, is mentioned by S.
Cyprian. It is probable that Symphronius was not prefect of the city, but a power-
ful senator, and that Aspasius is the same as Ovinius Paternus. Transcribers
made havoc of the names in the Acts.

>i<-

January 21.] S. AgUeS. 3I9

" I may be a child," replied Agnes ; "but faith dwells not
in years, but in the heart."

" I will tell you how I shall deal with you," cried Sym-
phronius. "You shall be stripped, and driven naked into a
house of ill-fame, to be subjected to insult and outrage."
Then the clothes were taken off the slender body of the girl,
and she was forced out into the street. In shame she loosened
the band that confined her abundant hair, and let it flow
over her body, and cover her. " You may expose my virtue
to insult," said she to the prefect, "but I have the angel of
God as my defence. For the only-begotten Son of God,
whom you know not, will be to me an impenetrable wall,
and a guardian never sleeping, and an unflagging protector."

And so it was. For when she was placed in the brothel,
the room was filled with light, and an angel brought her a
robe, white as snow, to cover her nakedness. And also,
when the governor's son burst in at the door in tumultuous
exultation, the angel smote him, that he fell senseless on
the ground.^ Thereupon there was an uproar, and the people
said, she had slain him by her enchantments. But when he was
come to himself he was ashamed, and the governor feared.
Therefore he committed the sentencing of Agnes to the
deputy, Aspasius, who ordered that she should be imme-
diately executed. And all the people rushed after her,
crying, " Away with the witch, away with her !"

Then a fire was kindled, and Agnes was placed upon the
pyre. But she, lifting up her hands in the midst of the fire,
prayed, "O Father Almighty, who alone art to be wor-
shipped, feared, and adored, I give Thee thanks for that
through thy holy Son, I have escaped the threats of the
profane tyrant, and with unstained footstep have passed over
the filthy slough of lust ; and now, behold, I come to Thee,
whom I have loved, have sought, and have always longed

• Antipbon to Ps. cix. Dixit Domir.ui, for S. Agnes' Day, and Greek Menaja.
^ — )is

1^-

320

Lives of the Saints.

[January 21.

for. Thy name I bless, I glorify, worid without end.''^
And she continued, " So now I am bedewed with the Holy
Ghost from on high ; the furnace grows cold about me, the
flame is divided asunder, and its heat is rolled back on
them that quickened it. I bless Thee, O Father of my
Lord Jesus Christ, who permittest me, intrepid, to come to
Thee through the fires. Lo ! what I have believed, that
now I see ; what I have hoped for, that now I hold ; what I
have desired, that now I embrace. I confess Thee with my
lips, and with my heart, I altogether desire Thee. I come
to Thee one and true God, who with our Lord Jesus Christ,
thy Son, and with the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest
through ages of ages. Ame?t." And when she had finished
praying, the fire became wholly extinct ; then Aspasius, the
deputy, ordered a sword to be thrust into her throat. " But,"
said he suddenly, " why is she not bound ?" The execu-
tioner turned over a quantity of manacles, and selected the
smallest pair he could find, and placed them round her
wrists. Agnes with a smile, shook her hands, and they fell,
like S. Paul's viper, clattering at her feet.^ Then she calmly
knelt down, and with her own hands drew forward her hair,
so as to expose her neck to the blow.'' A pause ensued, for
the executioner was trembling with emotion, and could not
wield his sword.^

As the child knelt alone, in her white robe, with her head
inclined, her arms crossed modestly upon her bosom, and
her locks hanging to the ground, and veiling her features,
she might not inaptly have been compared to some rare
plant, of which the slender stalk, white as a lily, bent with
the luxuriance of its golden blossom. " And thus, bathed
in her rosy blood," said the author of the Acts, "Christ
betrothed to Himself his bride and martyr."

1 This is appointed as the antiphion to the Magniticat for S. Agnes' Day,
» Pvudentius. ' Ibid. ♦ S. Ambrose lib. I. De f'irgii. c. 2.

>J< '■ ^

January- CI.] S. Meuu^ad. 321

Then her parents, having no sorrow, but all joy, took her
body, and placed it in a tomb on their farm, not far from
the city, on the Numentan road. But there being a great
crowd of Christians following, the pagan mob and soldiers
pursued them, and drove them away with stones and weapons.
But Emerentiana, who was the foster-sister of Agnes, a holy
virgin, though only a catechumen, stood intrepid and motion-
less by the tomb, and there she was stoned to death.

Such is the story — a romance. For the facts, such as
we can receive them, we must look to the earliest sources,
the words of S. Ambrose, the verses of Pope Damasus,
and the poem of Prudentius. Both the first two agree
that Agnes was aged twelve at the time of her martyr-
dom ; but there all agreement ceases. S. Ambrose says
that she was executed with the sword, as also that she
had refused a suitor, having been sought in marriage. Pope
Damasus says that she voluntarily delivered herself up to
judgment; that she was stripped, but covered by her long
flowing hair, and that she suffered a death by fire. Pru-
dentius declares that before her death she was exposed in
a lupanar. Neither he nor Damasus knew anything about
her rejection of marriage. The three accounts are irrecon-
cilable, and obviously are based on floating traditions that
varied greatly.

The Acts were probably composed in the 5th century, a
time when religious romance writing flourished. See a
critical examination of the sources of the legend in Chabrol,
"Diet. d'Archeologie Chretienne," vol. i. 1907.

S. MEINRAD, H. M.
(a.d. 861.)

[Authority, an ancient anonymous and perhaps authentic life in the
library of the monastery at Einsiedeln.]

About the year of grace 797, was born Meinrad, Count
of Hohenzollern. He was born in that part of Swabia, then
VOL. I. 21
^ ^

,22

Lives of the Saints.

[January ai.

-►i«

called Sulichgaa, which comprised the valleys of Steinlach
and Sturzel, and the towns of Rottenburg and Siilchen.

Berthold, the father of Meinrad, had married the daughter
of the Count of Siilchen, and lived with his wife in the
strong castle of Siilchen on the Nekar.

Meinrad lived at home till he was ten or eleven years
old. At that time the island of Reichenau possessed a
Benedictine monastery of great reputation. This island is
situated in the arm of the lake of Constance, called the
Zeller-see, and very fertile. The monks superintended
two schools in this island, connected with their monastery,
one for the boys who were in training to be monks, tlie
other for the sons of nobles, who desired to live in the
world. At the time that Memrad entered the school, his
kinsman, Hatto of Siilchen, was abbot.

At this period the great lesson that the monks had to
teach the Germans was, the dignity of labour. The Germans
were a turbulent people, loving war, harrying their neighbour's
lands, hunting and fighting, despising heartily the work of
tilling the land, and tending cattle. The monks began to
labour with their hands, and by degrees they broke through
the prejudices of the time, and converted the Germans into
an agricultural people. In 8i8, when Meinrad was aged 21,
the first vines were planted in Reichenau, to become, to this
day, the principal source of revenue to those to whom it
belongs. The position of Reichenau, on the main road to
Italy, gave it a special importance. Many foreign bishops,
who, halting there on their journeys, had carried away with
them a pleasant memory of that quiet isle in the blue lake,
returned to it to spend their last years in peace. Thus the
Bishop Egino retired to Reichenau, and built there, in 799,
the church of Our Lady, at the western extremity of the
island, which still exists. At the time of the consecration of
this church, Meinrad was in the monastery school ; this was

►i<-

Januaryai.] S. Meifirad. 323

in 816. Seven hundred monks, a hundred novices, and
four hundred scholars assisted at the ceremony, and sang
the grand psahns and Ccelestis urbs with wondrous efifect.

The time came for Meinrad to leave school and decide
on his career. The voice of his heart called him to the
service of God, and he prepared for Holy Orders. In 821
he was ordained deacon, and shortly afterwards priest. He
was fond of study ; but the book that most charmed his im-
agination was the account of the Fathers of the Desert, by
Cassian. The forms of these venerable hermits in their
caves seemed to appear to him and beckon him on. The
voice which had called him to the priesthood said to him,
" Friend, go up higher," and he took vows as a monk in the
abbey of Reichenau, to his great-uncle Erlebald, now superior,
on the resignation of Hatto in 822. He was then aged
twenty-five.

At the upper extremity of the Lake of Ziirich was the little
cloister of Bollingen, dependant on that of Reichenau. It
contained a prior and twelve brethren, who had established
themselves in this wild neighbourhood, lost, as it were,
among the mountains, to become the teachers of a neigh-
bourhood buried in darkness. They established a school
for the gentry and also for the serfs, in which they taught
the boys what was suitable for their different stations in life.
Being in want of a master for this school, they sent to the
abbot of Reichenau for one. His choice fell on Meinrad,
who was at once despatched to the humble priory, situated
on the confines of civilization, to which the mountains and
dense forests seemed to say, " Thus far and no further shalt
thou go."

In his new situation, Meinrad drew upon himself general
esteem and affection. His prudence in the direction of
souls, his learning, and his modesty, endeared him to all.

Nevertheless, from the moment of his entering into the

^-f-

->f«

324 Lives of the Saints. [January 21.

priory, Meinrad had felt a yearning in his heart for a Hfe
more secluded, in which he could pray and meditate without
distraction. About two leagues off, beyond the lake, rose
Mount Etzel, covered with dense forest. Often from the
window of his cell did his eyes rest, with an invincible long-
ing, on the blue mountain. The desire became, at length,
so uncontrollable, that he resolved to visit the Etzel, and
seek among its rocks for some place where he might pass
his days in repose. One day, accordingly, he took with him
one of his pupils, and, entering a boat, rowed to the foot of
the desired mount. A few hours after he was at the summit,
and his heart beat with a sweet joy at the sight of a place to
which his yearning soul had long turned. Behind him was
a pathless forest of pines, inhabited by wolves, but he feared
them not. He descended the hill by the side of Rappers-
chwyl, and arrived at the village, called afterwards Altendorf.
He rested at the house of a pious widow, who received him
hospitably. To her Meinrad confided his design, and asked
her to minister to his necessities on the Etzel, should he re-
tire thither. She readily promised to do so. Having
thanked her, he returned full of joy to Bollingen. He
asked the prior to give him his benediction and permission
to accomplish his project. He, with regret, permitted him
to respond to the call of grace, and Meinrad at once tore
himself from his companions and pupils, and crossed the
lake to the beloved mountain. This was in June, 828, when
Meinrad was aged thirty-one. He took nothing with him
save his missal, a book of instructions on the Gospels, the
rule of S. Benedict, and the works of Cassian. Burdened
with these volumes, he climbed the Etzel, and stood on a
commanding point. At his feet and before him lay the blue
lake of Zurich, its waters sleeping in sunshine ; behind him
was the gloomy horror of the forest. Beyond, the Alpine
l)eaks wreatTied in glaciers, glittering in the light, and around

■>f<

January 31.] ^. Meim^CXd. 325

him a solemn silence, broken only by the distant scream of
a magpie, or the creaking of the pines in the breeze.

The first care of the new solitary was to provide himself
with shelter against rain and storm. He collected broken
boughs, and interlaced them between four pines that served
as corner posts to his hovel, and roofed it in with fern.
This was his first house ; but shortly after, the widow,
having heard that he had retired to the Etzel, built him a
hut of pine logs, and a litde chapel, in which he might offer
the Holy Sacrifice. She attended to all his necessities, as
she had promised, and Meinrad was now at the summit of
happiness.

Strange must have been those first evenings and nights in
loneliness. There is a sense of mystery which oppresses the
spirit when alone among the fragrant trees, that stand stiff
and entranced, awaiting the coming on of night. To per-
sons unaccustomed to the woods, few moments of greater
solemnity could occur than those following the set of sun.
A shadow falls over the forest, and in the deep winding
tunnels that radiate among the grey, moss-hung trunks, the
blackness of night condenses apace.

Mysterious noises are heard; the rustling of large birds
setding themselves for the night, the click of falling cones, the
cry of the wild cat, or the howl of the wolf. The gold light,
that all day has flickered through the boughs and diapered
the spine strewn soil, has wholly disappeared, save that for
a moment it lies a flake of fire on the distant snowy peak.
Patches of ash-grey sky, seen through the interstices of the
branches, diffuse no light. Perhaps an evening breeze
whispers secrets among the pine-tops and pipes between the
trunks, or hums an indistinct tune, pervadnig the whole air,
among the green needle-like leaves of the firs. And then,
when night has settled in, the moon shoots its fantastic
silver among the moving branches, and draws weird

*^-

326 Lives of the Saints. uanuary2i.

pictures over the brambles and uneven soil. Branches snap
with a report like a pistol, and voices of unseen birds and
beasts sound ghost-like among the dark aisles of the laby-
rinth of firs.

It is well to picture these surroundings, when we call up
before us the figures of the old hennits. Their trials were
not only of hunger, and thirst, and cold ; there was the trial
of nerve as well.

In the forest cell, Meinrad disciplined his body by
rigorous fasts, and his soul by constant prayer. By degrees,
his cabin became a resort of pilgrims, who arrived seeking
ease to their troubled consciences, or illumination to their
dark understandings. Always united to God, always pene-
trated with the sense of His presence, he strove to know
the will of God, and to submit his own will wholly to that.

Seven years passed, and the number of those who visited
him increased every day. Then, finding his solitude no
more a solitude, he resolved to leave tlie Etzel, and bury
himself in some nook far from the habitations of men.

Behind the Etzel extended avast forest untrodden by man,
whose savage and gloomy loneliness attracted Meinrad.
AVliilst he was musing on his projected flight, some of his
old pupils at Bollingen came, as was their wont occasionally,
to visit their former master. Meinrad descended the moun-
tain with them to the point where the river Sihl, after
numerous windings in the forest, flows gently through an
agreeable valley, and empties itself into the lake. The pines
on its banks were reflected in the glassy water, and in its
crystal depths could be seen multitudes of trout. The young
monks desiring to have a day's fishing, Meinrad crossed the
river, and entered the forest. He walked on silent and
meditating, looking around him, in hopes of discovering
some place suitable for the purpose that occupied his mind.
After a walk of an hour and a half, in a southeriy direction,

^ _- — — ^ — ^

january2i.] S. Mciurad. 2)~1

he reached the foot of a range of hills which formed a semi-
circle as far as the Alb. In this basin, enclosed within the
arms of the mountain, wound a litde stream over a bed of
moss, from a spring beneath the roots of two large pines.
To the south lay the valley of the Alb, blocked by the
rugged snow-topped crags of the Mythen. This was just
such a solitude as Meinrad had desired. He fell on his
knees, and thanked God for having brought him to so
peasant a spot, and drinking for the first time from the
fountain, he returned to his companions, who, having
caught a bag full of fish, went back with him to his her-
mitage, and as evening fell, returned to Bollingen.

Meinrad now prepared to leave the Etzel. He went to
Altendorf to thank the widow who had provided for him,
and then he departed, taking with him one monk of
Bollingen and a peasant, to carry such things as would be
necessary in the wilderness. As they descended the hill
towards the river, the brother saw a nest of ravens on a
branch ; he cfimbed the tree, and taking the nest, brought it
along with the two young birds it contained to Meinrad,
who kept them, to be the companions of his solitude.

A few paces above the spring, where there was a gentle
rise, he decided should be the site of his habitation, and
there accordingly he erected a simple hut of logs. Provi-
dence did not desert him. The abbess Hedwig, head of a
small community of women at Zurich, undertook to minister
to his necessities, in place of the widow of Altendorf; and
from time to time she sent him food, and such things as
be needed.

He was now left in complete solitude, and often the
temptation came upon him, as he lay shivering with cold
in the winter nights, and the snow drifted about his cabin,
to give up this sort of life, and return to the community at
Bollingen or Reichenau. But he resisted these thouglUs,

,28

Lives of the Saints.

[January 21.

as temptations of the evil one, -with redoubled prayer and
fasting. In this place he spent several years in perfect
retirement, till a carpenter of WoUerau, coming there one
day in quest of some wood, discovered his cell. After that,
he was visited by hunters, and then, by degrees, a current
of pilgrims flowed towards his abode, as had been the case on
the Etzel. "What added to this was the present of a statue of
the Blessed Virgin and Child, made to Meinrad by Hildegard,
daughter of Louis the German, who had been appointed by
her father abbess of Zurich, in 853. This image speedily
acquired the credit of being miraculous, and thus began that
incessant pilgrimage which has continued for over a thousand
years to the venerated shrine where it is preserved.

Meinrad had spent twenty-five years in solitude \ and his
love for this mortified and retired life had grown stronger in
his heart as he grew older. He was glad when winter, the
frost, and the snow came to block the paths, and diminish
the concourse of pilgrims ; yet in spite of the rigour of the
climate at that season, and the want of roads through the
forest, he still saw many visitors, who came to confide to
him their troubles, as children to a father, and to ask counsel
of his prudence. There were also days in which he was
alone, and, shut up in his log-hut, heard only the hissing
of the \vind among the trees, and the howling of the wolves,
pressed by hunger in the forest ; all was sad around the
hermitage, the flowers, the gi'ass, the little spring slept under
the snow, spread like a white pall over dead nature. The
two ravens, perched on a branch of pine which overhung
the cabin door, uttered their plaintive croak. Meinrad alone
was happy. He celebrated the Divine Mysteries, and
holding in his hands the eternal Victim, offered himself, in
conjunction with the sacrifice of Calvary; desiring earnestly
that he might be found worthy to die the death of a martyr.
His prayer was heard.

lanuaryai.] S. Mchirad. 329

During the last years of Meinrad's life, pilgrims laid
presents at the door of Meinrad, and before the image of
Mary. Those that served to adorn the chapel he kept, the
rest he gave away to the poor. Two men, one from the
Grisons, named Peter, the other a Swabian, named Richard,
suspecting that he had a store of money collected from the
pilgrims, resolved on robbing him. They met in a tavern at
Endigen, where now stands Rapperschwyl, where they spent
the night. Next day, January 21st, 861, long before day-
break, they took the road to the Etzel and entered the forest.
For a while they lost their way, for the paths were covered
with snow. However, at length they discovered the hermi-
tage. The ravens screamed at their approach, and fluttered
with every token of alarm about the hut, so that, as the
murderers afterwards confessed, they were somewhat startled
at the evident tokens of alarm in the birds. The assassins
reached the chapel door. S. Meinrad had said his morning
prayers, and had celebrated mass. The murderers watched
him through a crack in the door, and when he had con-
cluded the sacrifice, and had turned from the altar, they
knocked. Meinrad opened, and received them cheerfully.
" My friends," said he ; " had you arrived a little earlier, you
might have assisted at the sacrifice. Enter and pray God
and His Saints to bless you ; then come with me and I will
give you such refreshments as my poor cell affords." So
saying he left them in the chapel, and went to prepare food
in his own hut.

The murderers rushed after him, and he turned and said,
smiling, "I know your intention, ^\^len I am dead, place one
of these tapers at my head, and the other at my feet, and
escape as quickly as you can, so as not to be overtaken."

He gave to one his cloak and to the other his tunic;
and they beat him about the head with their sticks, till he
fell dead at their feet. Then they threw his body on the

OJ^

Lives of the Saints.

[January 21.

bed of dried leaves whereon he was wont to sleep, and
cast a rush mat over it. They then searched the hut for
money, but found none. Before leaving, they remembered
the request of Meinrad, and placed one of the tapers at his
head, the other they took to the chapel, to light it at the
ever-burning lamp. When they returned, to their astonish-
ment, they saw that the candle at the head of the body was
alight. Filled with a vague fear, they set down the other
candle and took to flight. But the two faithful ravens
pursued them, screaming harshly, and dashing against the
heads of the murderers with their beaks and claws, as
though desirous of avenging their master's death. Frightened
more and more, and continually pursued and exposed to the
attack of the enraged birds, the murderers ran towards
Wollerau, where they met the carpenter who had discovered
the retreat of Meinrad. This man, recognizing the tame
ravens of the hermit, and suspecting mischief, hastily bade
his brother not allow the two men to escape out of his sight,
and then ran to the hermitage, where he found the body of
the Saint. The candle at his feet had set fire to the mat,
but the flame had expired as soon as it had reached the
corpse. The carpenter at once returned to Wollerau, where
he spread the news of the murder, and having bade his wife
and some friends take care of the body of S. Meinrad, he
went in pursuit of the assassins on the Ziirich road. He
soon overtook them. The ravens were fluttering with shrill
screams at the windows of a house. He entered and
denounced the murderers. They were taken, and delivered
over to justice. By their confession all the circumstances
of the martyrdom were made known.

Relics, at Einsiedeln, where, in 1861, the thousandth
anniversary of the Saint's death was celebrated with great
pomp.

January 22.]

6'. Vincent

331

January 22.

S. ViN'CENT, D. M-, at Saragassa, in Spain, a.d. 30).

SS. Vincent, Orontius, Victor, and Aouilina, MM., at Gerunda, in Spain,

A.D. 304.
S. BLmslLLA, »'., at Rome, a.d. 383.
S. Gaudentius, B. of No-vara, in Italy, circ. a.d. 418.
SS. Anastasius and Lxx. Companions, MM., in Assyria, a.d. 626.
S. Dominic, Ab. of Sara, in Italy, a.d. 1031.
S. Brithwald, B. of It'illon, in England, a.d. 1045.
B. Walter Van Bierbeeke, Monk, at Hemmernde, in Belgium, tire. a.d. 1220.

S. VINCENT, D. AND M.

(a.d. 304.)

[All Western Martyrologies, and by the Greeks on the same day, and
Nov. nth. The Acts, very ancient, quoted by Metaphrastes, are a very
early recension of the original Acts by the notaries of the Church. Also, a
hymn of Prudentius.]

HIS most illustrious martyr of the Spanish Church
was born at Saragossa in Arragon, the mother of
mart>TS, as Prudentius calls it. His parents are
mentioned in his Acts, which are at least older
than S. Augustine (August 28), in whose time they were
publicly read in the church of Hippo. The name of his
father was Eutychius ; and his mother, Enola, was a native
of Osca, or Huesca, which sometimes claims the honour of
his birth. He was trained in the discipline of the Christian
faith by Valerius, Bishop of Saragossa, and was in due time
ordained to the office of deacon. The Bishop was a man of
venerable piety, but laboured under an impediment in his
speech. He therefore devoted himself to prayer and con-
templation, and intrusted the care of teaching to 8. Vincent,
whom he also appointed his principal or archdeacon. Dacian
was then Governor of Spain under Diocletian and Maximian,
and had already distinguished himself by his cruelty against

►i<-

1^-

332

Lives of tJte Saints.

[Januar)' 32.

the Christians. The imperial edict for the seizure of the
clergy had just been published in the end of the year 303,
in which the laity were not included until the following year.
Valerius and his deacons were accordingly loaded with
chains and canied to Valencia, where the Governor then
was. The pains of hunger were added to their sufferings, in
the hope of subduing their fortitude. When they were
broudit before Dacian he first tried the effect of mild Ian-
guage and promises of reward if they would obey the orders
of the Emperors and sacrifice to the gods. He reminded
Valerius of the influence which his episcopal dignity gave
him ; and to Vincent he represented the honour of his
family, and the sweet joys of youth which still lay before
him. But the confessors of Christ were not to be thus
moved. Valerius, being unable from his infirmity to reply
to the artful persuasions of the tempter, Vincent made a
noble profession of the faith in the name of them both.

The Bishop was condemned to exile, where he seems
afterwards to have finished his course by martyrdom ; and
Vincent was remanded to prison, thence to pass by a more
painful but a speedier way to his crown. His body was
stretched upon the rack and cruelly torn with iron hooks, but
no torture could shake his resolution or disturb the calm
which sat upon his countenance. He defied the utmost
eftbrts of his tormentors ; and, when they began to grow
weary, Dacian ordered them to be beaten, suspecting that
they spared the martyr. But the Governor himself was at last
moved to a faint pity by the miserable spectacle, and en-
treated Vincent to purchase his deliverance by at least giving
up the Christian books. Vincent, still continuing firm, was
taken from the rack and led to a more terrible torture called
the Qiiestiofi. It was an iron frame with bars nmning
across it, sharp as scythes, and underneath a fire was kindled,
which made the whole frame red hot. To this fearful agony

^ — ^

January 32.] ^. VhlCejlt. 333

the martyr walked with a wilHng step, and even went before

the executioners. And, as he lay bound upon the bed of

torture, his eyes were fixed on heaven, his lips moved as if

in prayer, and a peaceful smile would sometimes pass across

his countenance. No cruelty was spared that diabolical

ingenuity could invent, but the love of Christ surpassed the

wrath of man and won the day. ^Vhen the malice of his

enemies could do no more, he was carried back to prison,

and laid in a dark dungeon strewn with broken potsherds,

which allowed his wounded body no rest. His feet, too,

were fastened in the stocks. But God was mindful of His

servant, and sent His angels to comfort him, besto\ving a

foretaste of his reward while his trial was as yet unfinished.

His cell was illuminated with the light of heaven, his bonds

were loosed, and the floor of his prison seemed to be strewn

with flowers. The martyr and his celestial visitants sang

hymns together, and the unwonted sound astonished the

jailer. He looked into the cell, and, overpowered by what

he saw and heard, confessed the power of God and the truth

of the Christian faith. When Dacian heard of it he shed

tears of rage ; but, finding it was useless to continue his

cruelty, he gave orders that some repose should be allowed

to the martyr. His motives for this act of clemency are

variously represented ; perhaps he only meant to recruit the

strength of Vincent that he might endure further tortures ; or

perhaps he feared that, if he expired under them, the

Christian faith might be exalted in the eyes of the people by

his constancy. But, whatever was the policy of Dacian, God

overruled it to obtain for His blessed servant an easy

departure. The scattered remnant of Christians gathered

round him, and tended him \\ath anxious care. They

provided a soft bed, on which he was no sooner laid than he

yielded up his soul to the Lord, on January 22, a.d. 304.

The rage of the Governor followed his poor remains. His

^. — >J«

334

Lives of the Saints.

[January 23,

body was cast out into a field to become the prey of wild
beasts and birds ; but was defended by a raven. Then, to
add further indignities to it, it was taken out in a boat and
thrown into the sea with a mill-stone about the neck.
During the night it was washed ashore, and at last was
privately buried by some good Christians in a humble
chapel near Valencia. When the fury of the persecution
had ceased, it was removed with great honour, and buried
under the altar of the principal church.

S. GAUDENTIUS, B. OF NOVARA.
(about a.d. 418.)

[From his life by an anonymous writer in, or about, 760 ; quite trust-
worthy.]

Gaudentius was a native of Ivrea (Eporoedia), under
the shadows of the Alps ; he was brought up as a Christian,
and exhibited early indications of piety. On reaching man's
estate he went to Novara, was ordained priest, and became
so distinguished for his sanctity, that S. Ambrose visited
him. Wlien Constantius, the Arian Emperor, exiled S.
Eusebius, the Catholic Bishop of Vercelli, Gaudentius went
into exile with him ; on his return he was elected to the
episcopal throne of Novara.

S. ANASTASIUS THE PERSIAN, AND LXX. COM-
PANIONS, MM. IN ASSYRIA.

(a.d. 628.)

[Commemorated by Greeks and Westerns. His Acts are genuine, having
been written either by the monk commissioned to attend him during his
passion, or from his dictation. These Acts were referred to in the 7th
General Council, 180 years after his death.]

There lived in Rages, in Persia, at the time when the true
Cross fell into the hands of Chosroes, King of Persia, a.d.

^ __ )^

January 22.] S. Afiastasms. 335

614, a young man, named Magundat, the son of a Magian
of rank. The capture of the Cross was famed all through
Persia, and Magundat was led by curiosity to enquire about
it of some Christians. Thus he learned the history of the
Passion of Jesus Christ, and the doctrine of the Redemp-
tion. It left a deep impression on his mind. He was soon
after called to serve in the army that marched under Sarbar
through the north of Asia Minor to Chalcedon, but on his
retreat, Magundat left the army, and visited Hierapolis in
Syria. In that city he lodged with a Persian Christian, a
silversmith, with whom he often went to the Christian
Church. There he contemplated the pictures of saints
glorified on golden grounds, and martyrs in their agonies,
and asked about them. His curiosity was satisfied, and
being greatly moved by what he heard, he felt a desire
to visit those holy places where Christ had been born and
where he had died, as he had seen painted on the walls
of the Church of the Martyrs in Hierapolis. Therefore he
went to Jerusalem, and he lodged there also in the house of
a smith, who was a Christian ; and to him he opened his
heart, and related how he had been led to desire baptism,
and a right to the Resurrection of the Just. He was, there-
fore, placed under instruction, and was afterwards baptized
by Modestus, "vicar of the Apostolic seat," as he is called
in the Acts, who governed Jerusalem, Zachary the patriarch
being in captivity. He prepared himself for the Holy Sacra-
ment with great devotion, and spent the octave after it —
which persons baptized passed in white garments — in con-
tinuous prayer. At his baptism he took the name of
Anastasius, thereby meaning, in Greek, his resurrection to
a new life.

After his baptism, the more perfectly to keep inviolably
his baptismal vows and obligations, he resolved on be-
coming a monk in a monastery five miles from Jerusalem.

,j, ->J(

>J, — . _ 1^

336 Lives of the Saints. [January aa.

Justin, the abbot, made him first learn the Greek tongue
and the psalter; then cutting off his hair, gave him the
monastic habit, in the year 620.

Anastasius was always most earnest in all spiritual duties,
especially in assisting at the celebration of the Divine
Mysteries. His favourite reading was the lives of the
saints ; and when he read the triumphs of the mart)rrs, his
eyes overflowed with tears, and he longed to be found
worthy to share their glory. Being tormented with the
memory of the superstitious and magical rites, which his
father had taught him, he was delivered from that trouble-
some temptation by discovering it to his director, and by
his advice and prayers. After seven years spent in great
perfection in this monastery, his desire of martyrdom daily
increasing, and having been assured by a revelation that his
prayers for that grace were heard, he left that house, and
visited the places of devotion in Palestine, at Diospolis,
Gerizim, and Our Lady's church at Caesarea, where he stayed
two days. This city, with the greatest part of Syria, was
then subject to the Persians. The Saint, seeing certain
Persian soothsayers of the garrison occupied in their abomi-
nable superstitions in the streets, boldly spoke to them,
remonstrating against the impiety of such practices. The
Persian magistrates apprehended him as a suspected spy \
but he informed them that he had once enjoyed the dignity
of Magian amongst them, but had renounced it to become a
humble follower of Christ. Upon this confession he was
thrown into a dungeon, where he lay three days without
eating or drinking, till the return of Marzabanes, the
governor, to the city. When interrogated by him, he
confessed his conversion to the faith. Marzabanes com-
manded him to be chained by the foot to another criminal,
and his neck and one foot to be also linked together by a
heavy chain, and condemned him, in this condition, to

^ ^

^ _ ^

ianuary22.] 6^. Aitastczsms. 2)37

carry stones. The Persians, especially those of his own
province, and his former acquaintance, upbraided him with
having disgraced his country, kicked and beat him, plucked
his beard, and loaded him with burdens above his strength.
The Governor sent for him a second time, but could not
induce him to pronounce the impious words which the
Magians used in their superstitions; "For," said he, "the
wilful calling of them to remembrance defiles the heart."
The judge then threatened he would write immediately to
the king, if he did not comply. " Write what you please,"
said the Saint, " I am a Christian : I repeat it again, I am a
Christian." Marzabanes commanded him to be forthwith
beaten with knotty clubs. The executioners were preparing
to bind him fast to the ground ; but the Saint told them it
was unnecessary, for he had courage enough to lie down
under the punishment without moving, and he regarded it
as his greatest happiness to suffer for Christ. He only
begged leave to put off his monk's habit, lest it should be
treated with that contempt which only his body deserved.
He therefore laid it aside respectfully, and then stretched
himself on the ground, and, ^vithout being bound, remained
all the time of the cruel torment, bearing it without changing
his posture.

The Governor again threatened him to acquaint the king
with his obstinacy. " Whom ought we rather to fear," said
Anastasius, " a mortal man, or God, who made all things out
of nothing ?" The judge pressed him to sacrifice to fire,
and to the sun and moon. The Saint answered, he could
never acknowledge as gods creatures which God had made
only for the use of man ; upon which he was remanded to
prison.

His old abbot, hearing of his sufferings, sent two monks
to assist him, and ordered prayers to be offered daily for him.
The confessor, after carrying stones all the day, spent the

VOL. I. 22

338

Lives of the Saints.

[lanuary 22.

-*5<

greatest part of the night in prayer, to the surprise of his
companions ; one of whom, a Jew, saw and showed him to
others at prayer in the night, shining in brightness and
glory Hke a blessed spirit, and angels praying with him. As
the confessor was chained to a man condemned for a public
crime, he prayed always with his neck bowed downwards,
keeping his chained foot near his companion, not to disturb
him.

Marzabanes, in the meantime, having informed Chosroes,
and received his orders, acquainted the martyr by a messen-
ger, without seeing him, that the king would be satisfied if
he would by word of mouth abjure the Christian faith : after
which he might choose whether he would be an officer in
the king's service, or still remain a Christian and a monk •
adding he might in his heart always adhere to Christ, pro-
vided he would but for once renounce Him in words privately,
in his presence, " in which there could be no harm, nor any
great injury to his Christ," as he said. Anastasius answered
firmly, that he would never even seem to dissemble, or to
deny his God. Then the Governor told him that he had
orders to send him bound into Persia to the king. " There
is no need of binding me, ' said the Saint : " I go willingly
and cheerfully to suffer for Christ." The Governor put on
him and on two other prisoners the mark, and gave orders
that they should set out after five days. In the meantime,
on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the 14th of Sep-
tember, at the request of the Commerciarius, or tax-gatherer
for the king, who was a Christian of distinction, Anastasius
had leave to go to the church and assist at the Divine Sacri-
fice. His presence and exhortations encouraged the faithful,
excited the lukewarm to fervour, and moved all to tears.
He dined that day with the Commerciarius, and then returned
with joy to his prison. On the day appointed, the martyr
left Caisarea in Palestine, with two other Christian prisoners,

i3&-

>i<-

January 22.]

■5*. Anastasius.

339

under a strict guard, and was followed by one of the monks
whom the abbot had sent to assist and encourage him. The
Acts of his martyrdom were written by this monk, or at least
from what he related by word of mouth. The Saint received
great marks of honour, much against his inclination, from
the Christians, wherever he came. This made him fear lest
human applause should rob him of his crown, by infecting
his heart with pride. He wrote from Hierapolis, and again
from the river Tigris to his abbot, begging the prayers of his
brethren.

Having reached Barsaloe in Assyria, six miles from Dis-
cartha or Dastagerde, near the Euphrates, where the king
then was, the prisoners were thrown into a dungeon, till his
pleasure was known. An officer came from Chosroes to in-
terrogate the Saint, who made answer, touching his mag-
nificent promises : " My religious habit and poor clothes
show that I despise from my heart the gaudy pomp of the
world. The honours and riches of a king, who must shortly
die himself, are no temptation to me." Next day the officer
returned to the prison, and endeavoured to intimidate him
by threats and reproaches. But the Saint said calmly, "My
lord judge, do not give yourself so much trouble about me.
By the grace of Christ I am not to be moved : so execute
your pleasure without more ado." The officer caused him
to be unmercifully beaten with staves, after the Persian
manner, insulting him all the time, and often repeating,
that because he rejected the king's bounty, he should be
treated in that manner every day, as long as he lived. This
punishment was inflicted on him three days ; on the third,
the judge commanded him to be laid on his back, and a
heavy beam pressed down by the weight of two men on his
legs, crushing the flesh to the very bone. The martyr's tran-
quility and patience astonished the officer, who went again
to acquaint the king with his behaviour. In his absence the

-'^

340

Lives of the Saints.

[January 22

jailer, a Christian, gave every one free access to the martyr.
The Christians immediately filled the prison ; every one
sought to kiss his feet or chains, and kept as reUcs whatever
had been sanctified by their touch. The Saint, with confu-
sion and indignation, strove to hinder them, and expressed
his dissatisfaction at their proceedings. The officer, return-
ing from the king, caused him to be beaten again, which
the confessor bore rather as a statue than as flesh and
blood. Then he was hung up for two hours by one hand,
with a great weight at his feet, and tampered with by threats
and promises. The judge, despairing to overcome him, went
back to the king for his last orders, which were, that Anasta-
sius and all the Christian captives should be put to death. He
returned speedily to put these orders into execution, and
caused the two companions of Anastasius, with threescore and
eight other Christians, to be strangled one after another, on
the banks of the river, before his face, the judge all the time
pressing them to return to the Persian worship, and to
escape so disgraceful a death. Anastasius, with his eyes
lifted up to heaven, gave thanks to God for bringing his life
to so happy a conclusion ; and said he expected that he
should have met with a more cruel death, by the torture of all
his members ; but seeing that God granted him one so easy,
he embraced it with joy. He was accordingly strangled,
and when dead, his head was struck off. This was in the
year 628, the seventeenth of the Emperor Heraclius. His
body, along with the rest of the dead, was exposed to be de-
voured by dogs, but it was the only one they left untouched.
It was afterwards redeemed by the Christians, who laid it
in the monastery of S. Sergius, a mile from his place of
triumph, in the city of Barsaloe, called afterwards Irom
that monastery, Sergiopolis. The monk that attended
him brought back his colobmm, or linen sleeveless tunic.
The Saint's body was afterwards brought into Palestine,

Januar>-22.] B. IVclltCK 34 1

thence it was removed to Constantinople, and finally to
Rome.

Relics, in the church of SS. Vincent and Anastasius at
Rome, also in the chapel of the Santa Scala, near S. John
Lateran, at Rome.

In art, he figures with a hatchet. Often his head alone,
on a plate ; to be distinguished from that of S. John Baptist,
by the cowl that accompanies it.

B. WALTER OF BIERBEEKE, MONK AT
HEMMERODE.

(about A.D. I 2 20.)

[Authority, life in Cassarius of Heisterbach's " Dialogus Miraculorum,"
Distinctio VII. c. xxxviii. ed. Strange. Csesarius knew Walter, and some
of the things he relates from what Walter told him, or from some of the
brethren who where eye-witnesses to the e\ ents he describes. At the same
time allowance must be made for the great credulity of Caesarius.]

Walter of Bierbeeke, in Brabant, was a knight of noble
blood, having been related to Henry, Duke of Louvain.
He fought against the Saracens in the Holy Land, and was
a brave and upright chevalier. He was also a man of deep
piety, and of a fervent devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Like
Sir Galahad he might have said : —

" all mv hea:t is drawn above,

My knees are bowed in crypt and shrine ;
I never felt the kiss of love.

Nor maiden's hand in mine.
More beauteous aspects on me beam,

Me mightier transports move and thrill ;
So keep I fair through faith and prayer

A virgin heart in work and will."

The great German writer, Fouqu^, seems to have had this
Brabantine hero in his mind's eye, when he wrote his

>^ — »J<

}^.

342

Lives of Ihe Saints.

[January S2

"Aslauga's Knight." Like Froda, in that exquisite story,
Walter of Bierbeeke had fixed his heart on a heavenly
mistress, whose pure image haunted his dreams.

A story told by Csesarius, illustrative of this, must not be
omitted, though we may doubt its truth. Walter rode with
a brilliant company of knights to a tournament. On his
way he passed a litde chapel, and the bell was tinkling for
mass. It was a feast of Our Lady, and the good knight,
leaping from his horse, entered the chapel to hear the mass
of the Blessed Virgin. " You will be late for the tourna-
ment !" shouted his companions. " My duty is first to Her,"
answered Walter, pointing to the image of the Mother of
God. Now when the mass was said, and the beginning of
the Gospel of S. John was read, then the knight rose from
his knees, remounted his horse, and rode towards the town.

As he neared the lists, he asked of some hurrying from it
how matters fared. " The tournament is well nigh over,"
was the answer, " Walter of Bierbeeke lias borne down all
competitors. He has done marvellously." But the kniglu
understood not. He asked others, and the same answer
was given. Then he rode into the lists, but met with no
distinguished success. And when all was over, many
knights came to him and said, " Deal graciously by us."
"\Vhat mean you?" he asked. "We were captured and
disarmed by thee in the lists, and we must ransom our-
selves." " But I was not there."

" Nay, but it was thou," they replied ; " for we saw thy
cognizance on helm and shield, and heard thy cry, and
knew thy voice." Then Walter knew that his heavenly
Mistress had sent an angel to fight for him, whilst he wor-
shipped at her humble shrine.

And after that, many a token did she show, that she had
accepted Walter as lier knight. Then his love to her
waxed daily stronger, and he said, "I have been her knight.

^ — »J(

January 23.] B. Walter. 343

now will I be her slave." So he went into a little chapel,
dedicated to his dear Lady, and put a rope round his
neck, and offered himself at the altar to be her serf, and
to jjay to her a yearly tax.

" And because out of honour to the heavenly queen he so
humbled himself," says Caesarius ; " therefore she, on the
other hand, glorified him, whom she loved, in many ways."

After a while he wearied of wearing coat of mail, and he
cast his weapons and harness aside, and donned the
Cistercian habit in the monastery of Hemmerode. There he
was not allowed to live in such retirement as he loved ; being
unskilled in Latin, he was made to serve as a lay-brother
instead of being in constant attendance in choir. Several
pretty stories are told of his cloister life. At dinner, as is
usual in monasteries, a monk read aloud from a Latin book.
The abbot noticed Walter during the meal, every day, to seem
very intent on what was being read ; smiles came out on
his face, and sometimes tears trickled down his cheeks. At
last the abbot sent for him, and asked him, " What art thou
attending to? Thou understandest not the Latin book."
"No, not that book," said Walter; "but I have another
book open before my mind's eye, full of sacred pictures, and
I look at the first, and there I see Gabriel announcing to
Mary that Christ is coming. Then I turn over the leaf, and
I see the stable of Bethlehem, and the adoring shepherds ;
and I see the Magi come ; and the next picture is the
Presentation in the Temple ; and so my book goes on, and I
come at last to Calvary and the grave. And that is a
picture book of which I never weary."

Once he was sent in a boat laden with wine to Zealand.
And a storm arose so that the vessel was in great danger,
and she drave before the wind all night. Thinking that they
must all perish, Walter made his confession to his servant,
there being no priest on board, and then he descended into

»*-

— >^^

*i<-

Lives of the Samts.

[January 22.

the hold, after midnight, and placing his little ivory statue o/
the Blessed Virgin before him, he knelt down and prayed;
expecting death. As he prayed he slept. Then, in a dream,
he saw the monastery of Hemmerode, and in it was an old
monk, Arnold by name, harping, and singing psalms, and
praying for those who "go down to the sea in ships and
exercise their business in great waters." Then Walter
awoke, and went to the mariners and said, " Be of good
cheer, we shall not perish, Arnold at Hemmerode is not
asleep to-night, but is harping on his harjj and singing to God
for us."

Now when they had come safe to land, Walter returned
to his monastery, and told the abbot of his dream. Then
the abbot sent for the monk Arnold, and he said to him,
"What wast thou doing on the vigil of S. Nicholas?" For
it was on that night that the vessel had been in danger.

" I could not sleep at all that night," answered the monk,
** so I prayed to, and praised God."

" But thou wast harping on a harp," said the abbot.

" Nay, my lord," answered the monk Arnold ; " this is
what I do. I play with my fingers on an imaginary harp,
under my habit, making music in my soul; and this I do
whenever my devotion flags."

Now Walter went with his superior, the abbot Eustace, to
the monastery of Villars, which was of the same Cistercian
order. And in the evening the abbot of Villars called all the
monks before the abbot Eustace of Hemmerode. And he
said, " Are they all here ?" He answered, " All are here but
two little French boys, who have communicated to-day, and
on such days as they communicate they love to remain in
silence by themselves."

Now on the morrow, when the convent had gone to
nones, and the elder of these boys was waiting the sound of
the bell, leaning on his spade before the church door, he read

January 33.]

B, Walter.

345

tlie little nones of Our Lady, and reading, he fell asleep.
Then he thought he saw the Blessed Virgin, with a great
company enter the church, and she looked not towards him.
And he cried, " Oh wretched me ! she calls me not !" Then
the Mother of God turning, looked at him, and signing to a
monk, bade him go and call the boy, and this the monk did,
coming to him, and saying, " The Mistress calleth thee."

When he woke, he told his fellow the dream ; and when
they went within, he saw Walter, and he whispered to his
companion, " If that monk had a grey habit instead of a
white one, I would say that it was he who summoned me."

Now on the morrow, when Walter and the abbot Eustace
were about to depart, they stood in the door, and Walter
wore his grey travelling habit. Then the boy exclaimed,
" Yes, that certainly is he." A few days after, the blessed
Walter of Bierbeeke died at Hemmerode, and strange to say,
within a day or two, the little French boy was called away
also.

v^.

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346

Lives 0/ the Saints.

[January 23.

January 23.

S. Parmenas, one nf the Jiut Sci'en Deacons, end of \st cent.

S. Messalina, /'. M., at Foligno, in Italy, a.d. 250 .

S. AscLAS, M., at Antinoe, in Egypt, circ. a.d. 304.

S. Emerentiana, r. M., at Rome, a.d. 304. {See p. 321.J

S. Clement, B. of Jncyra, and Companions, MM., beginning of ^th cer.t.

S. Amasus, B. C. of Teano, near Capua, circ. a.d. 356.

S. EusEBius, Ab. in Syria, ^th cent.

S. Mausimas, p. in Syria, circ. a.d. 400.

S. I'rban, B. of Langres, (,th cent.

S. John the Almsgiver, Patr. of Alexandria, a.d. 616.

S. Ii.DEPHONSus, B. of Toledo, a.d. 667.

S. BoisiLUS, of Melrose, circ. a.d. 664.

S. Maimbod, M., at Besancon.

S. Bernard, Ab. of yienne, in France, gth cent.

S. Raymond, of Pennaforte, C. in Spain, a.d. 1:75.

S. Margaret, r., at Rafenna, a.d. 1505.

S. ASCLAS, M.
(about a.d. 304)

[S. Asclas was martyred on Jan. 21st, but his body was found on Jan.
23rd, and on this latter day he is usually commemorated. His Acts, in a
fragmentary condition, are doubtful.]

|SCLAS, a native of Antinoe, was brought before
the Roman governor, Arrianus, when he visited
HermopoUs, in the Thebaid, or Upper Egypt.
After a close interrogation, which is faithfully
recorded in the Acts of this martyr, the Governor exclaimed,
" Come, now ! sacrifice to the gods, and consult thy safety.
I have various instruments at hand, as thou seest." "Try,
now," said the martyr, boldly. "Try, now, which will pre-
vail, thou and thy instruments, or I and my Christ." The
Governor ordered him to be swung from the little horse, and
his flesh to be torn off in ribands. This was done. Then
Arrianus said sullenly, " I see he is as obdurate as ever."
An orator, standing by, remarked, " The approach of death

►i<-

>i^

January 23.] 6'. Clcmetlt.

347

has robbed him of his wits." Asclas turned his head, and
said, " No, I am robbed neither of my Avits nor of my God."
Now this had taken place on the further side of the river,
near Antinoe ; and as there were not sufficient conveniences
for continuing the torture, the Governor said, " We will re-
turn to Hermopolis." So he ordered Asclas into one boat ;
and when he had been taken over the Nile, then Arrianus
entered his boat, and began to cross. Thereupon Asclas
cried out, " O Lord, for whose sake I have sufiered, may
Thy name be glorified now, even by unwilling lips. Retain
the vessel in the midst of the river, till Arrianus confesses
Thy power." Then suddenly the boat stood, as though it
had grounded on a sand-bank, and it could not be moved,
till the Governor wrote on a piece of parchment : " The Lord
of Asclas, He is God, and there is none other god save He."
And when he had sent this to the martyr, the boat floated,
and was propelled to the shore. Then the Governor, inflamed
with rage, thinking that the captive had used magical arts,
tortured him by applying fire to his sides and belly, till his
body was one great sore. And after that he cast him, with
a stone attached to his neck, into the Nile.

S. CLEMENT, B. OF ANCYRA, AND HIS COM-
PANIONS, MM.

(beginning of 4TH CENT.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks. The Greek Acts of these martyrs are
not genuine.]

S. Clement, Bishop of Ancyra, Avas the son of a heathen
father and a Christian mother. When Clement was ten years
old, his mother died. Before her death, she summoned him to
her side, and urged him not to desert Christ, whatever suffer-
ings he might be called on to endure for His sake. Being

»j( ^— i

348

Lives of the Saints.

[lam-.ary 23,

]iossessed of private means, on coming of age, he adopted a
number of poor boys, and educated them in tlie nurture
and admonition of the Lord. He was at length ordained
Bishop of Ancyra, his native city. In the persecution of
Diocletian, he was taken and brought before the governor.
He was treated with great barbarity, being torn with hooks,
and his teeth and jaw broken with a large stone. As he lay
among other prisoners that night in the jail, a bright light
filled it, and the prisoners saw a man enter in dazzling gar-
ments, who held in his hand the Holy Eucharist, and there-
with he communicated the bishop. But whether he were
mortal priest, or an angel of God, no man knows. Along
with Clement, one Agathangelus and many others, men,
women, and boys suffered for Christ, whose names are
written in the Book of Life.

S. JOHN THE ALMSGIVER, PATRIARCH OF
ALEXANDRIA.

(a.d. 616.)

[S. John died on Nov. nth. Rut as that is the feast of S. Mennas,
among the Greeks, they commemorate him on Nov. 12th ; and as the nth
is the feast of S. Martin among the Latins, the commemoration of S. John
IS transferred in some Martyrologies to Jan. 23rd, in others to Feb. 3rd,
and in others again to July 13th. Authority, his hfe by Leontius, Bishop
of Cyprus, and S. John Damascene, Orat. 3 ; also a hfe in Metaphrastes.
Leontius wrote from the account of the priests of Alexandria, who had
been under S. John.]

John the Eleemosynary, or the Almsgiver, was a very
wealthy native of Amathus in Cyprus, and a Avidower.
Having buried all his children, he employed his whole
fortune in relieving the necessities of the poor.

On his election to the metropolitan see of Alexandria,
he at once ordered a list to be made of his masters. When

■^

January 23.] S. y ohll. 349

asked what he meant, he replied that he desired to know
how many poor there were demanding his services in the
great city, for, hke his Lord, he had come to minister to
their needs.

As many as 7,500 were found without a UveHhood.
John at once undertook to reUeve them. Finding that
their poor little savings were wasted by the fraud of trades-
men, who used unequal balances and unjust measures, he
at once began an attack on such dealings, and thereby
stirred up no small hostiHty against himself on the part of
the petty shopkeepers.

Twice in the week he drew his chair outside the church
door, and placed two benches before it, that he might hear
the complaints of the oppressed, and remedy them, as far
as lay in his power. One day he was found softly crying.
" Why these tears ? " he was asked. " None seek my assist-
ance this day," he replied. " Thou shouldst rather rejoice
that there is no need," said his interlocutor. Then he
raised his eyes to heaven, with a joyous smile, and thanked
God. He built hospitals for the sick and visited them,
"not as captives, but as brothers," says Leontius. He was
discreet in his charities. To women and girls he gave
twice as much as to men, because they are less able to earn
a living. But he would not allow anything to be given to
those who were dressy and adorned with trinkets. But it
was not the poor alone that he assisted. A merchantman,
having been twice ruined by shipwrecks, had as often relief
from the good patriarch, who the third time gave him a
ship belonging to the church, laden with com. This vessel
was driven by a storm to Britain, where raged a famine.
He was therefore able to sell the corn at a good price, and
brought back a load of British silver.^ A nobleman having
been greatly reduced, the patriarch ordered his treasurer to

' From the mines in the Cassiterides, Devon and Cornwall.

>f<-

350

Lives of the Saints.

[January 23,

give him fifleen pounds of gold. The treasurer thinking
this too much, reduced the gift to five. Almost directly
after, a wealthy lady sent him an order for five hundred
pounds. The patriarch, who had expected more from that
quarter, asked her to come to him. "May it please your
Holiness," said she ; " I wrote the order last night for fifteen
hundred pounds, but this morning I saw that the lo on the
cheque had disappeared." S. John at once concluded that
this was God's doing. He turned to the treasurer and
asked how much had been given the poor nobleman. On
the hesitation of this man, he sent for the gentleman, and
found that his liberal orders had not been complied with.
" What is sown to the Lord, the Lord restores an hundred
fold," said the patriarch. " I knew that five pounds alone
could have been given, when He returned me only five
hundred."

Nicetas Patricius, sub-prastor of Africa, saw the lavish
charity of the patriarch with a jealous eye. The state ex-
chequer was without funds, and he thought to appropriate
the wealth of the patriarch to such purposes as the state
required. Accordingly, one day he visited John the Alms-
giver, with his attendants, and jjeremptorily demanded his
money. " Here is my strong box," said the patriarch; "but
the money belongs to the church, not to the state. If you
choose to take it, you may do so, but I will not give it
you, for it is not mine to give."

Nicetas, without more ado, ordered his servants to
shoulder the money chest, and take it away. Ashe opened
the door to leave, he saw some domestics bringing up a
number of pots labelled "Virgin Honey." "Hah !" said
the sub-prsetor, " I wish you would give me a taste of your
honey !" " You shall have some," said the Patriarch. Now
when the pots were opened, it was found that they contained
a contribution in money sent to the Bishop ; as indeed those

iji— ^

January 23.J ' 6^. y oJin. 351

who brought them announced.^ When John saw the amount
thus suppHed to his pillaged treasury, he ordered one of his
servants to take a pot, labelled as it was, to Nicetas, and to
put it on his table, saying, " All those pots you met coming
upstairs, as you went out, were full of the same sort of
honey." And John \vrote a note, which he attached to the
pot, to this effect : "I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee, said the Lord ; and His word is true, and no lie.
Think not that mortal man can restrain the everlasting God.
Farewell."

Now, Nicetas was sitting at table with friends at supper,
when it was announced that the patriarch's honey awaited
him. He ordered it at once to be set on the table, and said,
" That patriarch is out of temper with me, that I can see,
or he would have sent me more than one miserable little
pot." But when he opened the jar, behold ! it was full of
money. Then he felt compunction for what he had done,
and he ordered his servants to haste, and return to the
patriarch his cash-box, and all the contents of the honey-pot.

Nicetas, after this, became friendly to the patriarch, who, as
a token of response, stood godfather to his children. On one
occasion this friendship was clouded, and threatened disso-
lution. The governor had imposed a tax, which fell with
peculiar severity on the poor. John complained, and back-
biters were not slow to excite Nicetas against John, by
representing him as fomenting general discontent. The
governor rushed to the patriarch's lodgings, and exploded
into a storm of angry words, which left our Saint agitated
and distressed, As evening drew on, he wrote on a scroll

' We see here an instance of the manner in which some stories of miracles were
formed. Leontius, who heard the story from the clergy acquainted with all the cir-
cumstances, says that the bearer of the pots told the Patriarch that they contained
money; but that, for greater security, they were labelled honey. But Meta-
phrastes, in telling the story, says that, miraculously, the honey was converted into
gold.

)J, ■ — -^

»J< — »J,

252 Lives of the Saints. [January 33.

the words, " The sun is setting" and sent it to Nicetas,
who, recaUing the maxim of S. Paul, " Let not the sun go
down upon your wrath," was moved to regret his violence,
and he sped with the same celerity as before, but with
different purpose, to the residence of the patriarch, to ask his
pardon, and heal their friendship.

The good prelate could ill bear to be at discord with
another, though the fault was none of his.

On one occasion he had excommunicated, for a few days,
two clerks, who had attacked each other with their fists.
One bore the sentence in a right spirit of compunction, but
the other with resentment. Next Sunday, the patriarch was
at the altar celebrating. As the deacon was about to remove
the veil covering the sacred vessels, John remembered all at .
once the hostility of the clerk, and the words of our Lord :
" If thou bringest thy gift to the altar, and there remem-
berest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there
thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled
to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." (Matt. v.
25, 24.) Then, bidding the deacon recite the general prayer
over and over again till his return, he left the altar, and,
entering the vestry, sent a minister to bring the clerk who
was not in charity with him. And when this man came,
the patriarch fell before him on his knees, and bowed his
white head, and said, " Pardon me, my brother !" Then
the clerk, full of shame to see the patriarch, an aged man,
in all his splendid vestments, at his feet, flung himself down,
weeping, confessed his wrong, and asked forgiveness. Then
the patriarch embraced him, and returning to the altar,
finished the sacrifice.

Having in vain exhorted a certain nobleman to forgive one
with whom he was at variance, he invited him to his private
chapel, to assist at his mass. Now as they were reciting the
Lord's Prayer, the patriarch kept silence after he had said,

>J< ■ ■ *

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January jj.]

iS'. John.

353

" Give us this day our daily bread ;" and the server, at a
signal from him, ceased also ; but the nobleman continued,
" And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that tres-
pass against us," — and then noticed that he had made that
one petition alone, so he paused. Then the patriarch turned
round at the altar and said, " \Vliat hast thou now asked ? —
to be forgiven by God as thou forgivest others." The noble-
man was pricked at the heart, and fell down and promised
to forget the wrong that had been done him.

Observing that as soon as the Gospel was read at Mass, a
portion of the congregation retired and stood outside the
church, talking among themselves, the patriarch went forth
and seated himself amongst them, saying, " Where the sheep
are, there the shepherd must also be," and they with shame
came into church. Thus he broke through a pernicious
custom.

The patriarch, one day, took a bishop named Troilus,
then visiting Alexandria, to see his poor in a certain quarter,
where he had erected for their accommodation a number ol
domed huts, supplied with beds, mattrasses, and blankets
for the winter. Now Troilus had seen a handsome chased
silver drinking cup in the town, and had set his heart upon
it ; it cost thirty pounds, and he had brought this sum with
him, intending to buy the cup on his return, and when he
had shaken himself free from the charitable patriarch. " I
see," said John, " you have some money with you — many
pounds, if I mistake not; distribute it among these my
poor."

Troilus was unable to refuse ; and so, most reluctantly,
his gold went into the pocket of the beggars instead of into
that of the silversmith. He was so greatly put out about this
that he fretted himself into a fever. The patriarch, not seeing
him, or hearing of him, for some days, sent a servant to invite
him to dinner; but the Bishop declined, saying that he

VOL. I. 23

354 Lives of the Saints. [January 23.

suffered from a bad cold and fever. Then S. John hastened
to his house to sympathize with the sick man, but soon
discovering that there was more of temper than malady
in the case, he guessed the cause, and said, " By the
way, I borrowed of you thirty pounds the other day,
for my poor ; if you are so disposed, I will at once repay the
sum."

Then — says the writer of the life of S. John — when the
Bishop saw the money in the hand of the patriarch, all at
once his fever vanished, his cold flew away, and his colour
and vigour came back ; so that any one might have seen
what was the real cause of his indisposition. "And now, if
you are well enough, you will dine with me,'"' said the
patriarch. " I am ready," answered Bishop Troilus, jumping
oi^' his bed, on which he had cast himself in his fever of
vexation.

Now it fell out that after dinner the Bishop dropped
asleep with his head on the table, and in a dream he saw
himself in a wondrous land of rare ])eauty ; and there he
beheld a glorious house of unearthly beauty, over the door
of which was inscribed, " The External Mansion and
Place of Repose of Troilus, the Bishop." Having
read this, he was glad. But there came by a certain One, with
many attendants in robes of white, and He looked up and
read the title, and said : " Not so, change the super-
scription." Then the attendants removed the writing, and
replaced it with this, " The Eternal Mansion and Place
of Repose of John, Archbishop of Alexandria,
purchased for Thirty Pounds."

One of his domestic servants having fallen into great
difficulties, the patriarch privately helped him, by giving him
two pounds. " I do not know how I can sufficiently thank
your excellence and angelic holiness," said the servant.
" No thanks," said the patriarch, " Humble John " — so he

^. ^

January 33.] .5'. J oJl?!. 355

was wont to call himself-—" has not yet shed his blood for
you, as his Master taught him."

There was a certain man, named Theopentus, greatly
given to charity, who died leaving an only son. And on his
death-bed, he called the boy, and said to him, " I have ten
pounds, and that is all that remains to me ; shall I give it to
you or to the Virgin Mother of God ?" And when the boy
said, "It shall be her's;" then the father said, "Go and
spend it among the poor."

Now when the patriarch heard of this, and that the orphan
was left destitute, and was in great want; knowing that it
would hurt him to offer him charity, he devised an innocent
deception. He bade a scribe draw up a false pedigree,
making himself and the deceased to be cousins, and he bade
him show it to the youth, and bring him to the residence of
the patriarch. And when this was done, the holy man ran
to the lad and kissed him, and said, " How is this ! that the
child of my dear kinsman is in poverty. I must provide for
thee, my dear son." So he made him an allowance, and
married and settled him comfortably in Alexandria.

When the Persians devastated the Holy Land and sacked
Jerusalem, S. John entertained all who fled into Egypt, and
nursed the wounded. He also sent to Jerusalem, for the
use of the poor there, a large sum of money, and a thousand
sacks of corn, as many of pulse, one thousand barrels of
wine, and one thousand Egyptian workmen to assist in re-
building the churches. He moreover despatched two bishops
and an abbot to ransom the captives.

S. John lived a simple Hfe, his apparel, the furniture of his
house, his diet, were all of the meanest. A person of dis-
tinction in the city, being informed that he had only an old
tattered blanket on his bed, sent him a very handsome one.
" Humble John " wore it over him for one night, but sold it
next day, and gave the price to the poor; for, during the

^ >i<

>i<-

,56

Lives of the Saints.

[January 13.

night, he thought of some poor wretches who had no
blankets at all. The friead, being informed of this, bought
the blanket, and sent it to him again. It met with the same
fate as before, and he again and again re-purchased it. " We
shall see who will be tired first," said the patriarch ; " he of
buying, or I of selling, the blanket."

There was one class of men to whom it was peculiarly diffi-
cult to offer assistance, and that was the slaves, placed at the
almost complete disposal of their masters. But the watchful
care of S. John did not forget them. To the masters he
spoke noble words : " These men are made in the image of
God. What constitutes you different from them ? You and
your slaves have legs and arms, and eyes and mouths, and a
soul alike. S. Paul said, ' Whosoever is baptised into Christ
hath put on Christ — ye are all one in Christ.' In Christ
master and slave are equal. Christ took on Him the form
of a servant, teaching us to respect our servants. God re-
gardeth the humble, we are taught ; He says not, the lofty
ones, but those who are least esteemed. For the sake of the
poor slave were the heavens made, for him the earth, for him
the stars, for him the sun, for him the sea and all that there-
in is. For him Christ abased Himself to wash His servants'
feet, for him He suffered, for him He died. Shall we pur-
chase with money such an one, so honoured, redeemed with
such precious blood ? You ill-treat a servant, as though he
were not of like nature with you, yet is he highly honoured
by God."

A monk arrived in Alexandria with a young Jewess in his
company, whom he had converted and baptized ; this
caused great scandal, and by order of the patriarch, he was
severely beaten. The monk bore his chastisement meekly,
without exculpating himself. Next day it was made so
evident that the monk was without the least blame, that the
patriarch sent for him to ask his forgiveness, and ever after

►:<-

THE VIRGIN APPEARING TO S. ILDEPHONSUS.
After a Painting by Murillo in the Museum at Madrid.

Jan., p. 356.]

[Jan. 23,

^ *

January 23.] S. J oku. 357

he was most careful not to judge rashly. " My sons," said
he, when he heard people blame others ; " be not hasty to
judge and condemn. We see often the sin of fornication,
but we see not the hidden repentance. We see the crime of
a theft, but we see not the sighs and tears of contrition.
We severely blame the fornicator, the thief, or the perjurer,
but God receives his hidden confessions, and bitter sorrow,
and holds it as very precious."

Nicetas, the governor, persuaded the Saint to accompany
him to Constantinople, to pay a visit to the Emperor. S.
John was admonished from heaven, whilst he was on his way,
at Rhodes, that his death drew near ; so he said to Nicetas,
" You invite me to the king of the earth ; but the King of
heaven calls me to Himself" He therefore sailed to his
natire island of Cyprus, and soon after died at Amanthus,
the home of his boyhood and married life, and where he had
laid his wife and children, and there he fell asleep in Christ
at the age of sLxty-four, after having ruled the patriarchal see
of Alexandria ten years.

S. RAYMUND, OF PENNAFORTE, O.S.D.

(A.D. 1275.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authorities : The bull of his canonization, by
Clement VIII., in 1601, and a life by Leander Albertus.]

S. Raymund was bom in 1175, at Pennaforte, a castle in
Catalonia. At the age of thirty he went to Bologna, in
Italy, to perfect himself in the study of canon and civil law.
In 1 2 1 9 the Bishop of Barcelona, who had been at Rome,
took Raymund home with him and made him archdeacon of
Barcelona. In 1222 he took the religious habit of S.
Dominic, eight months after the founder had died. James,
King of Arragon, had married Eleonora of Castile within the

4 *

*i*-

358

Lives of the Saijits.

[January 23.

prohibited degrees, without a dispensation. A legate of Pope
Gregory IX., in a council of bishops held at Tarragona,
declared the marriage null. Acting on the mind of the
prince, by his great sanctity and earnestness, Raymund
persuaded him to introduce the inquisition into the kingdom
to suppress the Waldenses and Albigenses, who had made
many converts to their pernicious doctrines. The object of
S. Raymund doubtless was that it should serve as a check
to the diffusion of heresy, and be a protection to simple souls
against the poison which the ministers of Antichrist strove to
infuse into them. The inquisitors were to be the dogs pro-
tecting the sheep from the wolves. S. Raymund laboured
diligently, by exhortation and example, to convert the Moors
and heretics, and his efforts were attended with extraordinary
success.

Pope Gregory IX., having called S. Raymund to Rome,
made him his confessor. In 1235 he was named to the
archbishopric of Tarragona, but, by his tears, he persuaded
the Pope not to enforce his acceptance of the responsible
charge. In 1238 he was chosen general of the Dominican
order. He made the visitation of the order on foot, and
reduced the constitution to a more complete system than
heretofore. Being in Majorca with the king, he discovered
that King James was living in adultery with a lady of his
court. As the king would not dissolve the sinful union,
the Saint implored leave to depart ; the king refused, and
forbade any shipper taking him into his vessel. Thereupon
Raymund boldly spread his cloak on the water, and standing
on it, was wafted across to Barcelona. This miracle so
alarmed the king, that he became a sincere penitent. Ray-
mund died on Jan. 6th, 1275, at the age of a hundred.

January 24.]

6'. Twiothy.

359

January 24.

S. Timothy, B. M., at Ephesus, a.d. 97.

SS. Babylus, B., and Companions, MM., at Antioch, yd cent.

S. Felician, B. M. of Foligni, in Italy, a.d. 250.

S. Macedonius, //., in Syria, beginning of ^th cent.

S. EuSEBiA, F., at Mylasa, in Caria (Asia Minor), ^th cent.

S. Cadoc, Ab., in ll'ales, and M., 6th cent,

S. ZoziMUS, B. of Babylon, in Egypt, 6th cent.

S. TIMOTHY, B. OF EPHESUS.
(A.D. 97.)

[By almost all the ancient Latin Martyrologies, S. Timothy is com-
memorated on this day, but by the Greeks on Jan. 22. The Martyrology
called by the name of S. Jerome on Sept. 27. That of Wandelbert on
May 16, possibly because ot some translation of relics. Authorities : the
Epistles of S. Paul, and the Acts of S. Timothy, by Polycrates, Bishop of
Ephesus (210), which, however, we have not in their original form, but in a
recension of the 5th or 6th century ; other Acts of S. Timothy, also in
Greek, and a life in Metaphrastes.]

AINT TIMOTHY, the beloved disciple of S.
Paul, was bom at Lystra in Lycaonia. His
father was a Gentile, but his mother, Eunice, was
a Jewess. She, ^vith Lois, his grandmother,
embraced Christianity, and S. Paul commends their faith.
S. Timothy had made the ^ratings of the Old Testament
his study from infancy.' S. Paul took the young man as the
companion of his labours," but first he had him circumcised
at Lystra, as a condescension to the prejudices of the
Jews. He would not suffer S. Titus, bom of Gentile
parents, to be brought under the law, but Timothy, on
account of his Jewish mother, to avoid scandal to the Jews,
he submitted to circumcision.

"When S. Paul was compelled to quit Ber^a, he left

• 3 Tim. iii. 14.

' I Thess. iii. 2; 1 Cor. iv. 17.

36o

Lives of the Saints.

[January 24.

Timothy behind him to confirm the new converts. But on
his arrival at Athens S. Paul sent for him, and sent him to
Thessalonica where the Christians were suffering persecution.
Thence he returned to S. Paul, who was then at Corinth, to
give an account of his mission.^ From Corinth S. Paul went
to Jerusalem, and thence to Ephesus. Here he formed the
resolution of returning into Greece, and he sent Timothy
and Erastus before him through Macedonia, to apprize the
faithful in those parts of his intention of visiting them.
Timothy had a special charge to go afterwards to Corinth, to
correct certain abuses there. S. Paul awaited his return, in
Asia, and then went with him into Macedonia and Achaia.

During the subsequent imprisonment of S. Paul, Timothy
appears to have been with him. He was ordained Bishop
of Ephesus, probably in the year 64. S. Paul wrote his
first Epistle to Timothy from Macedonia, in 64; and his
second in 65, from Rome, while there in chains, to press
him to come to Rome, that he might see him again before
he died.

S. Timothy was afterwards associated with S. John ; and
in the Apocalypse he is the Angel, or Bishop, of the Church
of Ephesus, to whom Christ sends His message byS. John.^
During the great annual feast of the Catagogii, which con-
sisted of processions bearing idols, with women lewdly
dancing before them, and ending in bloodshed, S. Timothy
moved by righteous zeal, rushed into the portico of the
temple, and exliorted the frenzied revellers to decency ; but
this so enraged them, that they fell upon him with sticks and
stones, and killed him.

' Acts xviii.

' Rev. ii. I, 7.

S. TIMOTIIV.
From ;i Window of the Eleventh Cenlurj' at Neuweilef.

Jan., p. 360.]

[Jan. 24.

January S4.] S. Bttbylus atid Companwns. 361

SS. BABYLUS, B., AND COMPANIONS, MM.

(3RD CENT.}

[Latin Martyrologies Jan. 24 ; Greek Menaea Sept. 4. Authorities :
Eusebius, Sozomen, Philostorgius ; and his Acts, written by Leontius,
patriarch of Antioch, A.D. 348, which exist only in a fragmentary con-
dition ; also S. Chrysostom : Contra Gentiles de S. Babyla, and Horn.
de S. Babyla ; the latter written in 387. J

On the death of Zebinus, patriarch of Antioch, in the
year 237, S. Babylus was elected to the patriarchal throne.
The Emperor Philip, passing through Antioch in 244, and
being, as is supposed, a catechumen, desired to visit the
church. Babylus, informed of his approach, went to meet
him at the gate, and forbade his ingress, because he was
stained with the blood of his predecessor, Gordian, who had
associated him in the empire, and whom he had basely
murdered.

According to S. Chrj'sostom, who relates this anecdote,
the Emperor withdrew in confusion. But according to the
Acts it was not the Emperor Philip, but the governor,
Numerian, who attempted to enter the church, but was.
repulsed as being an idolator and stained with murder, by
the dauntless Bishop ; and Nicephonis Callistus, and
Philostorgius say the same. Certain it is that S. Babylus
suffered under this governor Numerian, son of Carus, who
was afterwards, for eight months, emperor, conjointly with his
brother Carinus. Babylus, and three little boys, aged re-
spectively twelve, nine, and seven, orphans, whom he brought
up in his house, were so cruelly handled by the torturers
before the governor, that the boys died, and Babylus
expired shortly after in prison. In order to put a stop to the
abominations of the famous temple and oracle of Daphne,
the zealous Emperor Callus, brother of Julian, buried the
body of S. Babylus opposite the temple gate. From that day
the oracle ceased to speak. The apostate Emperor Julian

* ^

;62

Lives of the Saints.

[January 24.

ordered its removal, in hopes of restoring liberty to the
demon who uttered the oracles, and the Christians translated
the sacred relics to the city, "singing psalms along the
road," says Sozomen. " The best singers went first, and the
multitude chanted in chorus, and this was the burden of
their song : Confotmded arc all they that worship carved
imagery and delight in vain gods."^

S. MACEDONIUS, H.

(beginning of 5TH CENT.)

[Greek Mensea. Authorities : Tlieodorct in his Philotheus, c. 13, and his
Ecclesiastical Hist. lib. v. c. 20; Nicephorus Callistus, lib. .\ii. 44, Theo-
doret's mother was under the direction of S. Macedonius.]

S. Macedonius lived a life of great austerity on barley
and water. For forty-five years he inhabited a dry ditch,
after that he spent twenty-five in a rude cabin.

A sedition having broken out in Antioch, and the people
having overthrowTi the statue of the Empress Flacilla,
Theodosius, the Emperor, in a fit of rage, ordered the city
to be set on fire and reduced to the condition of a village.
Blood would also have been infallibly shed, had not S.
Ambrose obtained from Theodosius, shortly before, the
passing of the law that no sentence against a city should take
effect till thirty days had expired. The Emperor senc his
chamberlain, Eleutherius, to Antioch to execute his severe
sentence against the city and its inhabitants. As he entered
the streets lined with trembling citizens, a ragged hermit, it
was Macedonius, plucked him by the cloak and said : " Go
to the Emperor, and say to him from me, You are not only
an Emperor, but a man ; and you ought not only to remem-

1 HisL EccL V. c. 19 ; also Socrates, Eccl. Hist. iii. ig.

->i<

January 340 6^. CadoC. 363

ber what is due to an empire, but also to human nature.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God. Do not
then order the image of God to be destroyed. You pass
this cruel sentence, because an image of bronze has been
overthrown. And for that will you slay living men, the hair
of whose head you cannot make to grow?" When this
speech was reported to the Emperor, he regretted his angry
sentence, and sent to withdraw it.

S. CADOC, AB.

(between A.D. 522 AND 590.)

[English and Gallican Martyrologies. Through a strange confusion, S.
Cadoc of Wales has been identified with S. Sophias of Beneventum in Ital)^ ;
because S. Cadoc appears in the Martyrologies as S. Cadoc, at Benavenna
(Weedon), and S. Sophias or Sophius Bishop of Beneventum being com
memorated the same day, the life given by Bollandus, with hesitation, is a
confused jumble of these two saints into one. The best account of S.
Cadoc is in Rees " Lives of the Cambro-British Saints ;" and in La Ville-
marqud's La Ldgende Celtique. There is also a poem composed in honour
of S. Cadoc, by Richard ap Rhys of Llancarvan, between 1450 and 1480,
published in the lolo MSS., p. 301, and the sentences, proverbs and apho-
risms of S. Cadoc are to be found in M)'%Tian Archasology, iii. p. 10. Thi
following epitome of his life is from M. de Montalembert's Monks of the
West, with additions from M. de Ville-marqu^ and corrections from Rees.]

Immediately after the period occupied in the annals of
Wales by King Arthur and the monk-bishop David, appears
S. Cadoc, a personage regarding whom it is difficult to
make a distinction between history and legend, but whose
life has left a profound impression upon the Keltic races.
His father Gwynllyw Filwr, surnamed the Warrior, one of
tlie petty kings of South Wales, having heard much of the
beauty of the daughter of a neighbouring chief, had her
carried off by a band of three hundred vassals, from the
midst of her sisters, and from the door of her own chamber,

4- — ^

)64

Lives of the Saints.

[January J4.

in her father's castle. The father hastened to the rescue of
his daughter with all his vassals and allies, and soon over-
took Gwynllyw, who rode with the young princess at the
croup, going softly not to fatigue her. It was not an
encounter favourable for the lover : two hundred of his
followers perished, but he, himself, succeeded in escaping
safely with the lady. Of this rude warrior and this beautiful
princess was to be born the saint who has been called the
Doctor of the Welsh, and who founded the great monastic
establishment of Llancarvan. The very night of his birth,
the soldiers, or, to speak more justly, the robber-followers of
the king, his father, who had been sent to pillage the neigh-
bours right and left, stole the milch cow of a holy Irish
monk, who had no sustenance, he nor his twelve disciples,
except the abundant milk of this cow. When informed of
this nocturnal theft, the monk got up, put on his shoes in
all haste, and hurried to reclaim his cow from the king, who
was still asleep. The latter took advantage of the occasion
to have his new-bom son baptized by the pious solitary, and
made him promise to undertake the education and future
vocation of the infant. The Irishman gave him the name
of Cadoc, (Cattwg,) which means warlike; and then, having
recovered his cow, went back to his cell to await the king's
son, who was sent to him at the age of seven, having
already learned to hunt and fight. The young prince
passed twelve years with the Irish monk, whom he served,
lighting his fire and cooking his food, and who taught him
the rudiments of Latin grammar. Preferring the life of a
recluse to the throne of his father, he went to Ireland for
three years, to carry on his education at Lismore, a
celebrated monastery school, after which he returned to
Wales, and continued his studies under a famous Roman
rhetorician, newly arrived from Italy. This doctor had
more pupils than money ; famine reigned in his school

J anuary 24.]

•S. Cadoc.

365

One day poor Cadoc, who fasted continually, was learning
his lesson in his cell, seated before a little table, and lean-
ing his head on his hands, when suddenly a white mouse,
coming out of a hole in the wall, jumped on the table,
and put down a grain of corn ; then Cadoc rising, followed
the mouse into a cellar, one of those old Keltic subterranean
granaries, remains of which are found to this day in Wales
and Cornwall. There Cadoc found a large heap of corn,
which served to feed the master and his pupils for many
days.

Having early decided to embrace monastic life, he hid
himself in a wood, where, after making a narrow escape from
assassination by an armed swineherd of a neighbouring
chief, he saw, near a forgotten fountain, where a white
swan floated, an enormous wild boar, white with age,
coming out of his den, and make three bounds, one after
another, stopping each time, and turning round to stare
furiously at the stranger who had disturbed him in his
resting place. Cadoc marked with three branches the three
bounds of the wild boar, which afterwards became the site
of the church, dormitories, and refectory of the great abbey
of Llancarvan. The abbey took its name, " The Church of
the Stags," from the legend that two deers from the neigh-
bouring wood came one day to replace two idle and
disobedient monks who had refused to perform the neces-
sary labour for the construction of the monastery, saying,
"Are we oxen, that we should be yoked to carts, and
compelled to drag timber?"

The rushes were torn up, the briars and thorns were cut
down, and S. Cadoc dug deep trenches to drain the morass
formed about the fountain he had discovered. One day,
when the chapel he was building was nearly completed, a
monk came that way, bearing on his back a leather pouch
containing tools for working metal, and some specimens of

►J.-

q*-

-y^.i

366

Lives of the Saints.

[January 34.

his handicraft. His name was Gildas. He was the son of
a chief in Westmoreland, and his brother, Aneurin, was one
day famous among the bards of Britain.^ Gildas opened
his bag and produced a bell. Its form was that of a tall
square cap, and it was made of a mixture of silver and
copper, not molten, but hammered.

Cadoc took the bell and sounded it, and the note was so
sweet that he greatly desired the bell, and asked Gildas to
give it him. " No," said the bell-maker ; " I have destined
it for the altar of S. Peter at Rome." But when Gildas
offered the bell to the Pope, the holy father was unable to
sound it ; then Gildas knew he must give it to the Welsh
monk ; so he returned to Britain, and offered it to Cadoc,
and when he held it, the bell rang sweetly as heretofore.

Llancarvan became a great workshop, where numerous
monks, subject to a very severe rule, bowed their bodies
under the yoke of continual fatigue, clearing the forests, and
cultivating the fields when cleared ; it was besides, a great
literary and religious school, in which the study of the Holy
Scriptures held tlie van, and was followed by that of the
ancient authors, and their more modern commentators.
Cadoc loved to sum up, chiefly under the form of sentences
in verse and poetical aphorisms, the instructions given to
his pupils of the Llancarvan cloister. A great number of
such utterances have been preserved. We instance a few.
"Truth is the elder daughter of God. Without light
nothing is good. Without light there is no piety. Without
light there is no religion. Without light there is no faith.
The sight of God, that is light." " Without knowledge, no
power. Without knowledge, no wisdom. Without know-
ledge, no freedom. Without knowledge, no beauty.
Without knowledge, no nobility. Without knowledge, no

' The Gododdin, a poem descriptive of tlie massacre ol the British chiefs at Stunt-
henge by Hengest, was composed by Aneurin whilst in prison.

* ^ ^

January 34-] iS. CacloC. 36/

victory. Without knowledge, no honour. Without know-
ledge, no God." " The best of attitudes is humility. The
best of occupations is work. The best of sentiments, pity.
The best of cares, justice. The best of pains, peace-
making. The best of sorrows, contrition. The best of
characters, generosity." When one of his disciples asked him
to define love, he answered, " Love, it is Heaven." " And
hate ?" asked his disciple. *' Hate is hell." " And con-
science ?" " It is the eye of God in the soul of man." " The
best of patriots," said S. Cadoc, " is he who tills the soil."

When a chief at the head of a band of robbers, came
to pillage Llancarvan, S. Cadoc went against him with
his monks armed with their harps, chanting and striking
the strings. Then the chief recoiled, and left them un-
molested. Another chief, enraged at Cadoc receiving his
son into his monastery, came with a force to reclaim the
youth and destroy the cloister. Cadoc went to meet him,
bathed in sunshine, and found the chief and his men groping
in darkness. He gave them light, and they returned
ashamed to their homes.

Cadoc had the happiness of assisting in the conversion of
his father. In the depths of his cloister he groaned over
the rapines and sins of the old robber from whom he
derived his life. Accordingly he sent to his fathers house
three of his monks, to preach repentance. His mother, the
beautiful Gwladys, was the first to be touched, and it was not
long before sVie persuaded her husband to agree with her.
They called their son to make to him a public confession of
their sins, and then, father and son chanted together the
psalm, " Exaudiat te Dominus" — " The Lord hear thee in
the day of trouble." When this was ended, the king and
queen retired into solitude, establishing themselves in two
cabins on the bank of a river, where they worked for tlieir
livelihood, and were often visited by their son.

368 Lives of the Saints. [January 14.

The invasion of the Saxons obliged S. Cadoc to fly, first
to the island of Flat-holmes in the Bristol Channel, and then
into Brittany, where he founded a new monastery, on a
little desert island of the archipelago of Morbihan, which is
still shown from the peninsula of Rhuys ; and to make his
school accessible to the children of the district, who had to
cross to the isle and back again in a boat, he threw a stone
bridge four hundred and fifty feet long across this arm of
the sea. In this modest retreat the Welsh prince resumed
his monastic life, adapting it especially to his ancient
scholarly habits. He made his scholars learn Virgil by
heart : and one day, while walking with his friend and
companion, the famous historian Gildas, with his Virgil
under his arm, the abbot began to weep at the thought that
the poet, whom he loved so much, might be even then
perhaps in hell. At the moment when Gildas reprimanded
him severely for that " perhaps," protesting that without any
doubt Virgil must be damned, a sudden gust of wind tossed
Cadoc's book into the sea. He was much moved by this
accident, and, returning to his cell, said to himself, " I will
not eat a mouthful of bread, nor drink a drop of water, till I
know truly what fate God has allotted to one who sang
upon earth as the angels sing in heaven." After this, he fell
asleep, and soon after, dreaming, he heard a soft voice
addressing him, "Pray for me, pray for me," said the
voice, " never be weary of praying ; I shall yet sing eternally
the mercy of the Lord."

The next morning a fisherman brought him a salmon, and
the Saint found in the fish the book which the wind had
snatched out of his hands.

After a sojourn of several years in Brittany, Cadoc left his
new community flourishing under the government of anothei
pastor, and to put in practice that maxim which he loved to
repeat to his followers : — " Wouldst thou find glory ? march

-^^

January 24.] .S". CadoC. 369

to the grave." He returned to Britain, not to lind again
the ancient peace and prosperity of his beloved retreat of
Llancarvan, but to establish himself in the very centre of the
Saxon settlements, and console the numerous Christians
who had survived the massacres of the Conquest, and lived
under the yoke of a foreign and heathen race. He settled
at Weedon, in the county of Northampton ■} and it was there
that he awaited his martyrdom. One morning, when vested
in the ornaments of his priestly office, as he was celebrating the
Divine Sacrifice, a furious band of Saxon cavalry, chasing
the Christians before them, entered pell-mell into the church,
and crowded towards the altar. The Saint continued the
sacrifice as calmly as he had begun it. A Saxon chief,
urging on his horse, and brandishing his lance, went up to
him and struck him to the heart. Cadoc fell on his knees ;
and his last desire, his last thought, were still for his dear
countrymen. " Lord," he said, while dying, " invisible King,
Saviour Jesus, grant me one grace, — protect the Christians
of my country !"

I The ancient name of Weedon having been Ucnav'. nna, this has helped to cause
the confusion which arose between S. Cadoc and S. t^opliias of Benevento in Italy,

3. Paul, after a Bronze in Clirlstian iluseum in the VatlcaQ

vol.. I. 24

37^

Lives of the Saints.

[January JJ.

January 25.

Conversion of S. Paul.

S. Artemas, M., at Puteoli.

SS. luvENTiNE AND Maximus, MM., at Antioch, a.d. 362.

S. PuBLius, Ab. of Zeugma, in Syria, ^tk cent,

S. Apollo, Jb. in Egypt, circ. a.d. 3qj.

S. Mares,//*, in Syria, ith cent.

S. Pr«.iectus, B., and Companions, at Clermont, a.d. 674.

S. PoPPO, M. of Sta-velot, in Belgium, a.d. 1048.

B. Henry of Suso, O.S.D., at Ulm, in Germany, a.d. 1363.

THE CONVERSION OF S. PAUL.

[The circumstances of the Conversion of S. Paul are so fully recorded in
the Acts of the Holy Apostles, chaps. .\ix., xxii., xxvi., as not to need
repetition here, being familiar to all. Among the Greeks, S. Ananias, who
baptized S. Paul, is commemorated on this day.]

S. ARTEMAS, M.

[Commemorated at Puteoli and Naples under the name of Artemas,
but in the ancient Martyrology attributed to S. Jerome, he is called Anti-
masius, a mistake of copyists for Artimasius or Artemas. The Acts are
those preserved by the Church of Puteoli, and seem to be founded on others
of great antiquity ; they exist only in a fragmentary condition, and give no
clue to the date of the martyrdom.]

RTEMAS was a pious Christian boy in Puteoli,
in the south of Italy. He was sent to school to
oue Cathageta, a heathen. Out of the abundance
of the heart the mouth speaketh, and the boy,
filled with faith, spoke of his belief to some of his fellow-
scholars. It was soon known among the boys that Artemas
was a Christian, and it came to the master's ears. Catha-
ceta lectured and browbeat the little scholar, and threatened
him with the rod. " You may whip," said the brave boy ;

O
x

»jl

January 35.] SS. J iiventine and Maxhmis. 371

" but you will only whip my faith deeper into me." Then
the master, in a rage, shouted to the boys to punish him, and
the cmel tiger-cubs, educated to bloodshed by the atrocities
of the arena, fell upon him with their iron pens, used for
scratching on wax tablets, and stabbed him to death.

SS. JUVENTINE AND MAXIMUS, MM., AT
ANTIOCH.

(a.d. 362.)

[Authorities : the 40th Homily of S. John Chrysostom ; Theodoret, Iiisi
Eccl. lib. iii. c. 15 ; Nicephorus Callistus, lib. x. c. 12.]

Theodoret says : — " The Emperor Julian continued to
oppose religion Avith greater and greater boldness, while he
assumed the specious appearance of clemency, in order to
lay snares to entrap men, and seduce them into irreligion.
He cast things offered to idols into the fountains of the city
of Antioch, so that no one could drink of the streams with-
out partaking of the hateful sacrifices. He defiled in the
same way everything that was sold in the market-place ; for
he had water which had been offered to idols sprinkled on
the bread, meat, fruit, herbs, and all other articles of food.
The Christians lamented these abominations, yet partook of
the food according to the precept of the Apostle, (i Cor. x.
25.) Two of the Emperor's guards, who were his shield-
bearers and companions in arms, vehemently deplored, at a
certain convivial meeting, the perpetration of such odious
deeds. One of those who had been present acquainted the
Emperor with this speech. The Emperor sent for these two
men, and asked what it was that they had said. This ques-
tion they answered thus, in the warmth of their zeal : ' O
Emperor, having been brought up in the true religion, and

372 Lives of the Saints. [January as.

having been accustomed to the admirable laws of Constan-
tine, we cannot but be deeply grieved at witnessing the very
food contaminated by being mixed with idol offerings. We
lamented this privately, and now, publicly, we express our
regret. This is the only cause of sorrow which we experience
under your government.' On hearing these words the Em-
peror threw off the mask of clemency. Such excmciating
tortures were, by his orders, inflicted on these two men, that
they expired under them. The Church of Antioch honoured
them as defenders of religion, and interred them in a mag-
nificent tomb ; and even to this day an annual festival is
celebrated in their honour. Their names were Juventlus
(Juventinus) and Maximus."

S. APOLLO, AB. IN THE THEBAID.
(about a.d. 395.)

[Commemorated on this day by Greeks and Latins alike, though somf!
Latin Martyrologies note him on the 18th April. Authorities : his life by
Palladius in the Hist. Lausiaca ; and Sozomen, lib. iii. c. 14, who calls him
Apollonius. Palladius is an excellent authority, for during his residence
among the hermits of the Thebaid, he was personally acquainted with
Apollo.]

This illustrious hermit began his discipline of himself by
a solitary life in the desert, at the age of fifteen. He spent
forty years by himself, and then, called by God to guide the
souls of others, he became head of a congregation of monks
in Upper Egypt. In the reign of Julian the Apostate, hear-
ing that his brother, who was in the army, was imprisoned
for his religion, he went at the head of his monks to visit
him. The tribune entering the prison shortly after, and
seeing so many monks within, ordered the gates to be
closed, and vowed he would enlist them all as soldiers. But

* ^

•i« ^— ^

January jj.] ^. Apollo. 373

in the night an angel came, bearing a lamp, and opened the
doors of the prison and led them forth, and they escaped
with great joy to their beloved desert. About fifty monks
obeyed him ; but he did not confine his sympathies to them.
Hearing that the country people were about to fight one
another about some trifling subject of contention, Apollo
rushed from his rocks, and flinging himself amongst them,
conjured them not to shed one another's blood. One party
promised to retire, but the other, headed by a redoubted
robber, confident in his powers, held out. Then Apollo
turned to the chief and said, " My son, lay down thine arms,
and I will pray God to pardon thy many offences." The
man cast away his weapons, and threw himself at the feet of
the abbot. On another occasion he heard that a village
procession of a famous wooden idol was about to take place;
he went down, and kneeling, prayed God to prevent it. Then
the image became immovable, so that neither priest nor
people could take it from its place in the temple. The
priests said, " A Christian has done this." " Yes," said
Apollo, " I have done it by my prayers," and he exhorted
the people to forsake the worship of such vain gods.

One Easter day the community had only some old stale
loaves and a few dried olives, and they lamented that on so
great a day they must fast, as in Lent. " Be of good cheer,"
said the abbot, " let each ask for what he likes best, and on
such a day the loving God will give it him." But they would
not ask, thinking themselves unworthy of such a favour
But he said, " Fear not, I will pray." Then they all knelt
down, and Apollo asked, and they said Amen. Now as this
response came, behold there arrived men and asses bringing
a present to the monks, and it consisted of fresh loaves,
pomegranates, citrons, honey in the comb, nuts, and a pitcher
of fresh milk, grapes and figs, and large luscious dates
{nicolai\

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►K-

374

Lives of the Saijits.

[laiiuary jj.

The monks of Apollo communicated every day, and some
ate nothing from communion to communion, living only on
this heavenly food. These were some of the pieces of
advice Apollo gave to his monks : — " It behoves us to be
ever joyous, for we ought not to be sad about our salvation.
The Gentiles are sad, the Jews weep, and sinners mourn,
all those whose affections are fixed on earthly things have
cause to be agitated in mind, but not we." And it was so,
that the monks were always cheerful and gay, and if any ap-
peared sad, the abbot knew the cause must be sin, and he
sent for him. " Let the monks communicate every day, for
those who withdraw from the Sacraments, from them God
withdraws Himself But he who approaches them assidu-
ously receives the Saviour. That is a salutary saying, 'He
that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in Mc,
and I in him.' Daily, therefore, let the monks prepare them-
selves, and daily let them receive it." "Let asceticism," he
added, " be secret. I do not like those who put chains on
their necks, — they do it to be seen of men ; let them rather
fast in their cells, where no one will know anything about it.''

S. MARES, AB. IN SYRIA.

(5TH CENT.)
[From the Philotheus of Theodoret, cap. 20.]

S. Mares spent thirty-seven years in a small damp cell,
constant in prayer. Theodoret says that towards his end,
" I Avent to his door, and he bade me open. He was aged
ninety, and wore common goat's hair garments. All his food
was bread and salt. As, for long, he had desired to see
the Holy Sacrifice offered, but was not able, he asked that
the oblation of the Divine Gift might be made there. I

^i<-

1^- *

January 2S.] 61 PoPpO. 375

willingly obeyed, and having ordered the sacred vessels to be
brought from the village, and using for an altar the hands of
the deacons, I oftered the mystic, divine, and salutary Sacri-
fice. But he was filled with all spiritual delight, and thought
that he saw heaven, and declared he had never had such joy.
I was greatly pleased with him, and I should be doing him
and myself a wrong, if after his death I did not praise him."

S. PR^JECTUS, B., AND OTHERS, MM.,
AT CLERMONT.

(a.d. 674.)

[S. Praejectus, in French 5. Priest, Prlets, Prie, or Prix, is commemo-
rated in the Gallican, Belgic, Sarum, and other Martyrologies. Authority :
his life by two contemporary writers.]

S. Pr/EJectus, Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne, severely
rebuked one Hector, a noble of Marseilles, for having
ravished a young lady of Auvergne, and seized on her
estates. His remonstrances having been disregarded, he
hastened to King Childeric II. to lay his complaint before
him, and the king gave orders for the execution of Hector.
On the return of the Saint to his see, some friends of
Hector waylaid him at a place called Volvic, near Clermont,
and murdered him.

S. POPPO, AB. OF STAVELOT.
(a.d. 1048.)

[Modem Roman Martyrology. The name occurs in no ancient Martyr-
ologies ; it owes its insertion to Baronius. His life was wnticn by Ever-
helm, abbot of Hautmont, his contemporary, in 1069.]

The blessed Poppo, bom in Flanders in 978, as a youth
served in arms. He made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,

Lives of the Saints.

[January 25.

and, on his return, engaged himself to the daughter of his
friend Frumhold. When the time of his marriage drew nigh,
Poppo mounted his horse one night, together with some
retainers, to ride to fetch his bride. He had not gone far
before a dazzHng flash of hght illumined him within, in his
soul, and bathed his body in a blaze of glor}*. As it faded
away, he spurred on his horse, and then noticed that a
flame burnt on the point of his spear ; it was as though he
rode bearing a tall church taper in his hand. Astounded at
this marvel, he reined in his steed, and turning to his com-
panions said, " God calls me to another life."

Then he left home and went, with the light still illumina-
ting his soul, and served in a hospital for the sick. One day
a miserable leper was brought in so covered with sores that
he could not be placed with the other inmates. Thinking
that the poor creature was cold in the night, Poppo went to
him with his own coverlid, and laid it over him. Next
morning the leper was whole, the charity of Poppo had
healed him. Richard, abbot of Verdun, appointed Poppo
to rule the abbey of S. Vedast, which had fallen into scan-
dalous disorder. When the Emperor Henry II. was in the
Betawe, between the two branches of the Rhine, Poppo,
having to visit him about some affairs concerning his mon-
astery, found the prince enjoying a favourite pastime of his ;
a naked man was smeared with honey and exposed to bears ;
and the sport consisted in the bears trying to lick the man,
and he eluding their embraces. As this sport not unfrequently
ended in the man being injured, and sometimes killed, Poppo
rebuked the king, and brought him to a sense of the im-
propriety of encouraging such coarse and dangerous amuse-
ments. That this sport was popular, appears from Hincmar,
Archbishop of Rheims, being obliged to forbid his clergy
and monks attending either it or bear-bating.

On another occasion, when Poppo was on his way to the

January 25.]

iS". Poppo.

377

Emperor, then at Strasburg, as he passed through the Ellis-
gau, with some of his monks, they saw a wolf carry off a
man by the neck into a marsh, Poppo at once called his
monks to the rescue. They were unable, on account of the
loose texture of the swamp, to go direct to where the man
lay, but they surrounded the marsh, and following the bloody
traces, recovered the man, who was much mangled ; they
bound up his wounds, and he finally recovered, ^\^^at be-
came of the wolf they saw not, and hoped, and hoping
believed, he was smothered in the marsh.

Poppo was afterwards created abbot of Stavelot, where
the monks had fallen into grave disorders. His efforts to
reform them so irritated some of the worst, that they at-
tempted to poison him, but failed. Having thoroughly
reformed the monastery, he rebuilt and beautified the church,
and died on the feast of the Conversion of S. Paul, after
having received extreme unction from the hands of the
abbot Everhelm, who is his biographer.

•^ "** I--— -I

Alpha and Omega ; the First and the IxisL

378 Lives of tJu SahltS. [January a*.

January 26.

S. PoLYCARP, B. M. of Smyrna, a.d. 167.

S. Simeon the Olp, ^b. tn Syria, end 0/ 4th cent,

S. Paula, W., at Bethlehem, a.d. 404.

S. Xenophon, his Wife and Sons, t^th cent.

S. Bathild, Q., in Prance, circ. a.d. 670.

S. Theoritgitha, K, at Barking, in Essex, >jth cent.

S. GoBERT, C, at Foss, in Belgium.

S. Alberic, Ab. of Citeaux, beginning of 12th cent.

B. Haseka, fi., in H'estphalia, a.d. 1261.

S. POLYCARP, B. M. OF SMYRNA.
(a.d. 167.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authorities : His Acts, written by the Church of
Smyrna immediately after his martyrdom, Eusebius, &c.]

f AINT POLYCARP was converted to Christianity
in the year 80, when quite young, and he had the
privilege of accompanying those who had seen
Jesus Christ. S. John, whose special disciple
he was, consecrated him Bishop of Smyrna in the year 96.
He is supposed to be the Angel or Bishop of the Church of
Smyrna, to whom alone, in the messages recorded in the
Apocalypse, did Jesus Christ address praise unmLxed with
blame.i " I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty,
(but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue
of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer ; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison,
that ye may be tried ; and ye shall have tribulation ten
days ; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life."

In the year 158, S. Polycarp visited Rome. The cause

' Rev. 11. g.

^ —

January 26.] ^. Polycavp. 2)79

of his visit is not exactly declared; but he had a conference
with Pope Anicetus concerning the time of celebrating the
Paschal Feast ; and the disputes upon this subject were
carried on so warmly, in the second century, that perhaps
we are to seek no other reason for Polycarp undertaking so
long a journey. The first day of the week, or Sunday,
appears to have been held sacred, on account of our Lord's
Resurrection, from the very beginning of the Church. The
eastern and western Christians agreed in keeping a solemn
fast for some time preceding the feast of the Resurrection.
There was, however, one important difference between
them. The Asiatic Christians kept a feast on the true
Passover, as well as observing the great Easter festival.
The western Christians kept the Paschal feast on Easter
Day. By separating the Passover feast from the feast of
the Resurrection, the Easterns had a burst of festivity
interrupting discordantly the hush of the great fast, which
caused great offence to the western sense of propriety. Both
parties laid claims to apostoUc authority for their respective
customs. The eastern Christians asserted that SS. John
and Philip had sanctioned their custom ; while the brethren
at Rome defended themselves by the authority of SS. Peter
and Paul. This being the case, and neither of the parties
being willing to concede, a conference between an Asiatic
Bishop and the Bishop of Rome seemed a very desirable
measure. Polycarp had been personally known to S. John,
and had been appointed by him to his bishopric. Anicetus
was, singularly enough, the seventh Bishop of Rome since
the beginning of the century, but Polycarp had occupied
the see of Smyrna during the whole of that time. S.
Irenaeus, who relates the conference between Anicetus and
Polycarp, states that neither could convince the other.
The meeting was, however, conducted and terminated in
perfect amity. The two bishops were firm, and wedded to

1^ ^

380 Lives of the Saints. [|anuary26.

their respective customs ; but the bond of peace was not
broken between them ; and as proof of their mutual good-will,
they received together the supersubstantial food, the Pope
allowing Polycarp, out of respect for his age and character,
to celebrate.

In the sixth year of the reign of Marcus Aurelius, an ex-
hibition of games in Smyrna kept the city in excitement for
some days, and the Christians were made to fight with wild
beasts for the amusement of the populace. Polycarp him-
self was advised to withdraw from the storm, and he con-
cealed himself for some time at a short distance from the
city. His retreat was betrayed by a boy, who was threatened
with the rack unless he discovered him. Herod, the magis-
trate, whose office it was to prevent misdemeanours, sent
horsemen by night to beset his lodgings. The Saint was
above stairs in bed, but refused to make his escape, saying,
" God's will be done." He went down, met them at the
door, ordered them a handsome supper, and desired only
some time for prayer before he went with them. This
gi-anted, he began his prayer standing, and continued it
in that posture for two hours, recommending to God his own
flock and the whole Church, with so much earnestness and
devotion, that several of those that were come to seize him,
repented having undertaken the commission. They set
him on an ass, and were conducting him towards the city,
when he was met on the road by Herod and his father,
Nicetes, who took him into their chariot, and endeavoured
to persuade him to a little compliance, saying, " What harm
is there in sacrificing, to escape death ?" The bishop at first
was silent, in imitation of our Saviour : but being pressed,
he gave them this resolute answer, " I shall never do what
you desire of me." At these words, they thrust him out of
the chariot with such violence, that his leg was bruised by
the fall. The holy man went forward cheerfully to the place

^ . _ -^

_ ,J,

January 26.] S. PolyCaVp. 38 I

where the people were assembled. Upon his entering it, a
voice from heaven was heard by many : " Polycarp, be
courageous, and play the man." He was led directly to the
tribunal of the pro-consul, who exhorted him to respect his
own age, to swear by the genius of the Emperor, and blas-
pheme Christ. Polycarp replied, " I have served Him these
fourscore and six years, and He never did me any harm, but
much good. How can I then blaspheme my King and my
Saviour ? If you require of me to swear by the genius of
Caesar, as you call it, hear my free confession ; I am a Chris-
tian : but if you desire to learn the Christian religion, appoint
a time, and hear me."

The pro-consul then, assuming a tone of severity, said, " I
have wild beasts." " Call for them," replied the Saint : " for
we are unalterably resolved not to change from good to evil.
It is only good to pass from evil to good." The pro-consul
said, " If you despise the beasts, I will cause you to be burnt
to ashes." Polycarp answered, "You threaten me with a
fire which bums for a short time, and tlien goes out ; but are,
yourself, ignorant of the judgment to come, and of the fire
prepared for the wicked. Why do you delay ? Bring against
me what you please." Whilst he said this his countenance
shone with a certain heavenly grace, insomuch that the pro-
consul was struck with admiration. However, he ordered a
crier to make public proclamation three times, " Polycarp
has confessed himself a Christian." At this proclamation
the whole multitude of Jews and Gentiles gave a great shout.
They unanimously demanded that he should be burnt alive.
Their request was no sooner granted than every one ran,
with all speed, to fetch wood from the baths and shops. The
Jews were particularly active and busy on this occasion. The
pile being prepared, Polycarp put off his garments, untied
his girdle, and began to take off his shoes. The wood and
other combustibles were heaped around him. The execu-

^ ^

^ _ »i«

382 Lives of the Sai-ntS. [January 26.

tioners would have attached him to the stake ; but he said
to them, " Suffer me to be as I am. He who gives me grace
to endure this fire, will enable me to stand still without that
precaution." They, therefore, contented themselves with
tying his hands behind his back, and in this posture, looking
up towards heaven, he prayed as follows : " O Almighty
Lord God, Father of Thy beloved and blessed Son Jesus
Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of Thee,
God of angels, powers, and every creature, and of all the
race of the just that live in Thy presence ! I bless Thee
for having been pleased in Thy goodness to bring me to this
hour, that I may receive a portion in the number of Thy
martyrs, and partake of the chalice of Thy Christ, for the
resurrection to eternal life, in the incomaptibleness of the
Holy Spirit. Grant me to be received this day as a
pleasing sacrifice, such an one as thou Thyself hast pre-
pared, that so Thou mayest accomplish what Thou, O ti'iie
and faithful God ! hast foreshown. Wlierefore, for all things
I praise, bless, and glorify Thee, through the eternal high
priest Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, with whom, to Thee,
and the Holy Ghost, be glory now and for ever. Amen."
He had scarce said Amen, when fire was set to the pile,
and increased to a mighty flame. " But behold a wonder
seen by us," say the authors of these Acts. "The flames form-
ing themselves into an arch, like the sails of a ship swelled
with the wind, gently encircled the body of the martyr ;
which stood in the middle, like purified gold or silver, ap-
pearing bright through the flames ; and his body sending
forth such a fragrance, that we seemed to smell precious
spices." The heathen were exasperated to see that his body
could not be consumed, and ordered a spearman to pierce
him through, which he did, and such a quantity of blood
issued out of his left side as to quench the fire. The malice
of the devil ended not here : he endeavoured to obstruct the

^ >j<

January 26.] S. SlmCO^t. 383

relics of the martyr being carried off by the Christians ; for
many desired to do it, to show their respect to his body.
Therefore, by the suggestion of Satan, Nicetes advised the
pro-consul not to bestow it on the Christians, lest, said he,
abandoning the crucified man, they should adore Polycarp :
the Jews suggested this, " Not knowing," say the authors of
these Acts, " that we can never forsake Christ, nor adore any
other, though we love the martyrs, as his disciples and imita-
tors, for the great love they bore their King and Master."
The centurion then cast the body into the midst of the fire,
and burnt it to ashes. " We afterwards took up the bones,"
say the writers of the Acts, " more precious than the richest
jewels or gold, and deposited them decently in a place at
which, may God grant us to assemble with joy, to celebrate
the birthday of the martyr."

His tomb is still shown near Smyrna.

S. SIMEON THE OLD, AB.

(end of 4TH CENT.)
[Greek Mencea. Authority, Theodoret, in his Philotheus, c. 6.]
Simeon the Old dwelt a life of solitude in a cave, feeding

on vegetables. One day some travellers arrived at his cell,
having lost their way and asked the old hermit to direct
them to a certain fort for which they were bound. The
hermit called two lions from the desert, and gave them to
the travellers as guides. This incident was related to

• In some accounts a dove is said to have issued from the side, but this is due to a
curious blunder of a transcriber, and does not exist in the oldest copies. The words
ep aristera on the left side, have been written by carelessness peristera a dove. Euse-
bius, Rufinus, Nicephorus, and the Greek Mensea say nothing of a dove.

^. ^

384 Lives of the Saints. January 26.

Theodoret by one who was present on the occasion. When
a large number of disciples assembled under his direction,
the aged Simeon went away to mount Amanus, near
Antioch, and there built a monastery. But afterwards,
being desirous of ending his days on Sinai, he went into the
desert of that mountain. And there he saw one day two
hands raised from the mouth of a cave. Thinking it might be
a snare of the devil, he approached with caution. At the
sound of his footsteps the supplicating hands were drawn in,
and he saw no man; then he cried to the dweller of the
cave to come forth, and there issued out of it an old hermit
dressed in palm leaves, who said that he and a brother
hermit had come to establish themselves on Sinai, and they
had promised each other never to separate. Now before
they reached the holy mount the brother hermit died; so
the survivor buried his corpse, and, faithful to his promise,
tarried by his grave till the Lord should call him ; and
every day a lion brought him a bunch of dates. Now when
Simeon had partaken of his dates, and they had sung
together the matin office, he went on, and reaching Sinai
with his monks, established on the mountain two mon-
asteries, one at the summit, and the other at the foot.

S. PAULA, W., AT BETHLEHEM.

(a.d. 404.)

[Roman Martyrology. S. Paula died on Jan. 26th, aftt r sunset, conse-
quently some commemorate her on Jan. 27th. Authority : her life written
by S. Jerome, her director, in a letter to her daughter Eustochium.]

The blessed Paula was born at Rome in the year 347.
Her father was Rogatus, of noble Grecian origin. Her
mother, Blesilla, reckoned the Gracchi, the Scipios and
Paulus ^milius among her ancestors. This illustrious

*■

->:i

cil

|anuary36.] 6". Paula. 385

birth was made more honourable by her union with
Toxotius, of the JuHan race, and very wealthy. Her virtues
endeared her to the people of Rome, and her modesty,
gravity, and prudence caused her to be generally respected.
Her husband died when she was aged twenty-three, and
grief for his loss nearly brought her to the grave as well.
Toxotius left behind him four daughters, Blesilla, Paulina,
Eustochium, Julia, and Ruffina; the youngest child was a
boy, and he bore the name of his father.

The heart-broken widow at length found repose in sub-
mission to the will of God. Filled with a sense of the
vanity of all earthly things, she strove to detach her
affections daily from all save God. After the death of her
husband she would not sit down to table with any man, not
even with the bishops, whose advice she sought, and who
were most hospitably entertained in her house. By degrees
she accustomed herself to plain food, and inexpensive
clothing. Instead of a downy couch, she made her bed on
the hard floor. " Hitherto all my care has been how I
might please my husband," said she, " now I will care for
naught save how I may best serve Jesus Christ."

She was now called on to bewail the death of her eldest
daughter Blesilla, who died shortly after her husband, to
whom she had been married only for a short time. S. Jerome
wrote on this occasion to S. Paula from Bethlehem. After
having tenderly recalled the pale and gentle face, bowed with
exhaustion after fever on the slender neck, the angelic form,
of the departed daughter, S. Jerome adds ; " But what
am I doing? I would dry the tears of a mother and mingle
mine with hers. I do not conceal my emotion. I write
weeping. But Jesus wept over Lazarus, because He loved
him. It is difficult to console another when one is also
overwhelmed with grief, and when the broken heart can find
no v/ords. O Paula, I take Jesus Christ to witness, whose
VOL. I. 2.?

►&-

^ ^

386 Lives of the Saints. [January 36.

Majesty Blesilla now sees ; I take the holy angels to witness,
whose companion she now is ; that I sufifer the same
anguish of heart as you, for I, having been her spiritual
father, had learned to love her dearly."

Paula saw also her second daughter Paulina die, who
had been married to Tammachius, a man of noble consular
birth, as illustrious for his piety as for his descent, " the first
of monks in the first of cities," S. Jerome called him in after
years, when he had embraced the monastic life in Rome.
She also survived her fourth daughter Ruffina, married to
the patrician Aletheus, but this affliction fell upon her when
she was no longer in Rome.

Her daughters had grown up, and her son Toxotius,
having been secured a careful bringing up, by his sister
Ruffina, S. Paula felt that she might now follow at liberty
the bent of her desire. The stirring life in Rome gave her
no rest. Her noble birth and great wealth made her in
great request, and the time, which she desired to devote to
God alone, was broken up by the petty business and
formalities of social life, which could not be dispensed with
in the great city. She therefore resolved to abandon Rome,
her palace, her crowds of servants, her numerous acquaint-
ances, many friends, and dear children.

She desired to visit the holy scenes consecrated by Christ,
and then to settle quietly down near her old confessor and
director Jerome, then inhabiting a cell at Bethlehem. It
was no light matter parting with her relations and children,
but she had this consolation, Eustochium, her unmarried
daughter, accompanied her, one in heart with her mother,
desirous of consecrating her virginity, as Paula desired to
dedicate her widowhood, to Jesus Christ.

When they left Rome, the kinsmen accompanied them to
the port. It was a heart-breaking scene. Paula took her
place on the deck of the vessel that was to bear her away

ij, — ^

^ _ Ij,

January j6.] 6^. Paula. 387

for ever. The anchor was drawn up, the moorings cast
loose, and the rowers bowed to their task. Then the grief
of Toxotius became incontrollable ; he stretched forth his
arms to her, sobbing, " Mother, mother ! do not leave me."
The grief of the others was silent, manifesting itself in copious
tears. But Paula, raising her dry eyes to heaven, turned her
face from the shore, and conquered by a superhuman effort
the agony caused by the rending of so many dear ties. On
reaching Jerusalem she found that a palace had been fur-
nished for her reception by the governor, with every comfort
and even luxury. She, however, chose the meanest chamber
therein, in which to lodge, and spent her time in visiting the
holy sites. She prayed long and earnestly before the true
Cross, kissed the stones on which the body of Jesus had lain,
and watered with her tears the dust of the Dolorous Way
along which He had borne His Cross.

She then journeyed to Bethlehem, and adored Christ in
the cave of the Nativity. Overwhelmed with awe she ex-
claimed, " Oh, how dare I, a poor sinner, kiss the crib where
the Lord wailed as a little babe ? How dare I offer my
prayer, where the Virgin brought the Word into the world in
the substance of our flesh ! Let the home of my Redeemer
be henceforth my resting place, here will I dwell where He
walked the earth as man."

Having settled at Bethlehem into a poor little house, she
engaged workpeople to erect on the road to Jerusalem a
spacious hospital for pilgrims and sick persons, and also a
monastery for S. Jerome and his monks. She then erected
three convents for women, with one church in which all the
inmates of the three houses assembled for the divine office.
There they met to sing prime, tierce, sext, nones, vespers,
compline, and the midnight lauds ; thus they daily sang the
whole psalter, which every sister was required to learn by
heart. On Sundays they went to the neighbouring church

^ — »i<

-►J*

388

Lives of the Saints.

[January 26.

where the Divine Sacrifice was offered, and where they com-
municated.

All the sisters worked with their hands, and made clothes
for themselves and for the poor. No man was ever suffered
to set foot within their doors. Paula governed them with
great charity and discretion, animating them by her own
example. Neither she nor her daughter, Eustochium, refused
to perform the most menial offices in the sisterhood. If any
of the sisters proved talkative she was separated from the
rest, and made to walk last and to eat alone.

She was gladdened to hear in her retreat of the marriage
of her son Toxotius to a pious maiden, named Loeta, to
whom S. Jerome addressed the first treatise on the education
of women which the Christian spirit had inspired, and which
prepared for cloistral life the young Paula, her daughter, de-
voted to the Lord from the cradle, and a nun, like her grand-
mother and her aunt. He offered with the candour of genius,
to educate the child himself, and " old as I am," said he, " I
shall accustom myself to infantine lispings, more honoured
in this than was Aristotle, for I shall instruct not a king of
Macedon, destined to perish by poison of Babylon, but a
servant and spouse of Christ, to be presented to Him in the
heavens."

But Toxotius and his wife seem to have thought that an
aged monk, immersed in study, would not prove so suitable
for the nurture of the little maiden as a woman, and they
therefore sent her to S. Paula, her grandmother. S. Paula
lived to the age of fifty-six years and eight months, of which
she had spent in her widowhood five at Rome, and almost
twenty at Bethlehem. In her last illness she repeated almost
incessantly the verses of the psalms, which express the ardour
of the soul to see Jerusalem which is above, and there to be
united to her God. When she was no longer able to speak,
she formed the sign of the Cross on her lips, and expired in

January a6.] ^Sl XejlOpkoU. 389

perfect peace, on Jan. 26th, a.d. 404. Her body, borne by
bishops, attended by acolytes holding lighted tapers, was
buned on the 28th of the same month, in the church of the
Holy Manger at Bethlehem.

S. XENOPHON, HIS WIFE, AND SONS.

(5TH CENT.)

[Commemorated by the Greeks on this day, and introduced into the
Roman Martyrology by Clement the VIII. Authority: a life in Simeon
Metaphrastes of uncertain date.J

In the Court of Constantine the Great at Byzantinum was
a senator named Xenophon, a devout Christian, whose wife's
name was Mary. They had two sons whom they loved as
the apples of their eyes, John and Arcadius. These sons
were destined for the law, and after they had finished their
education in Greek at home, Xenophon sent them in a ship
destined for Berytus, to be there instructed in law, that being
then a great legal school. At the time of their departure,
Xenophon was sick nigh unto death, and he bade them fare-
well from his bed. The young men had not been many days
at sea before a violent tempest burst upon them, and the
vessel was speedily reduced to a wTeck. The brothers cast
their arms round each other's necks and kissing, bade one
another farewell. Then the wreck broke up on a reef, and
in the havoc of the waves rending the fragile ship, they lost
sight of one another. However, it fell out that both reached
the land on broken pieces of the vessel, but they were cast
up so far apart that each supposed that he alone was saved.
John came ashore not far from a monastery, into which he
was hospitably received, and where he was well cared for till
he had recovered the exhaustion consequent on battling with
the waves for life. In the monastery John found a calm and

»±< ^ —

390 Lives of the Saints. [January 36.

cheerfulness such as he had not experienced in the world ; it
seemed to him a peaceful refuge for the storm-tossed soul as
well as for the shipwrecked body, and he resolved to remain
there as a monk.

Arcadius had also come ashore ; he made his way to Jeru-
salem, in great trouble of mind, having lost in the vessel all
the money his father had given him wherewith to prosecute
his studies, and above all, his brother. Now alone and poor,
he knew not whither to go, and what to do. Then one day
he came to a monastery governed by an aged abbot, who
comforted him, and urged him to despise the world, and
seek rest in God. Arcadius remembered how, as a litde
boy, he had heard his father descant on the peace of the
cloister and the happiness of monastic life. He therefore
gladly assumed the habit, and bent his head for the tonsure.

Now at Byzantium, Xenophon had recovered of his
malady, and he and his wife often communed together of
their absent sons. Not hearing any news of them, he sent
a servant to Berytus to make enquiries. The servant re-
turned one day when Xenophon was at court, so that the
mother, Mary, was the first to hear of the loss of the vessel.
The servant said that it was feared at Berytus that all on
board had perished. " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord," said she.

Evening came, and with it returned her husband from the
court, with a crowd of servants and torch-bearers. He found
supper spread, and his wife awaiting him. He sat down,
but noticing that she was grieved in spirit, and that her eyes
were full of tears, he asked the reason. She changed the
subject, and after a while, so as gently to break the news to
him, she said that the servant was on his way home. Xeno-
phon started from the table in agitation, and asked where he
was. " How do you know that he is here ? he may have
been delayed through sickness on the way," said Mary,

I
>j,_ . ij

January 26.] 6'. Xe^tOphofl. 39 1

restraining her grief with an effort. " But the letters, where
are the letters ?" asked her husband, white with emotion.
" Surely you can delay reading them till to-morrow," said the
wife ; " eat your supper now, at least, with a glad mind."
Then her tears streamed down her cheeks. Xenophon
looked steadily at her, and asked in a low voice, " Is it well
with the boys ?" Then she told him all. And Xenophon
said, " The Lord's name be praised who has given me such
a prudent and self-constrained wife," and instead of giving
way, went to Mary and kissed her and comforted her,
for now that the need for control was removed, all her
mother's heart gave way in a passion of tears and sobs.

Xenophon and his wife had no rest. Were their children
dead or alive ? That they must know ; so they resolved to
go together to Palestine to find them alive or dead. On
arriving at Jerusalem they visited the holy places, and prayed
everywhere that if it were the Lord's will, they might see
again once more the faces of their sons. One day in the
street they saw a servant they had given to the youths now
wearing the monastic habit ; Xenophon fell down reverently
before him, and when the man, full of shame, implored him
not to do so, " It is not you I reverence, but your habit," said
the nobleman. Then the man told him how the ship had been
wrecked, and how nearly all had perished, but he, escaping
to land, had taken the monastic profession upon him.

Three years had passed since John and Arcadius had
sailed from Byzantium, and the parents began to despair of
hearing any tidings of them, when one day they visited the
monastery of the abbot who had received Arcadius. The
old man having heard their story, knew at once that one of
their sons was with him, and from what he had learned, he
conjectured that the other was alive in another house. He
therefore bade them be of good cheer, assuring them that
their sons lived, and he bade them meet him on a certain

392

Lives of the Saints.

[January 26,

day upon Mount Calvary, by which time he would be sup-
plied with further information.

Now it fell out that John was then in Jerusalem visiting
the scenes of the Passion. The aged abbot sent for him
and spake with him, and soon learned that his suspicions
were correct, and that he was the brother of his monk.
Arcadius at this moment arrived. The abbot said to John,
*' Brother, what is thy history, I pray thee relate it to me."
So John began, "I am the son of wealthy parents in
Byzantium, who sent me with my brother to Berytus, to
study law ; I loved my brother as my own soul. He was
dearer to me than my life. On our voyage a storm fell on
us, and the vessel was wrecked, then my brother Arcadius
and I " — hereat Arcadius trembled, and extended his
hands, and fell at the feet of the abbot, and stammered
forth, '* It is my brother, my brother !"' And when John
heard his voice, he knew him ; but they knew each other not
before, for they were both cowled, and greatly altered through
fasting. And the brothers lifted up their voices and wept, and
embraced each other with exceeding joy. Then the abbot
said, " My sons, I bid you be silent and restrain yourselves.
Your parents come this way, and too great joy falling too
suddenly upon them may be more than they can bear,
therefore I say unto you, refrain yourselves awhile." Hardly
had he done speaking, and the two monks had fallen
behind, before Xenophon came up Calvary, leading
Mary.

They were much aged by care. They came on with
their wistful eyes fixed on the old abbot; and scarce
regarded the monks who followed him, for their thoughts
were on what he had to tell them. They cried, " "Where are
our dear sons, father?" Then the abbot said, " Rejoice, my
children, rejoice and praise the Lord ! your sons are found.
Now go and prepare a feast, and I will come shortly with

->i«

^ — _ >^

January a6.] S. XeUOphon. 393

my two disciples whom you see here, and when we have
eaten, I will bring your sons to your arms."

Now when Xenophon and Mary heard this, they were
filled with joy, and they hasted and made ready a feast, and
the abbot came, he and his two disciples, and they sat
down and did eat. But all the while, as Arcadius and John
heard the dear voices of father and mother, they shook with
suppressed emotion, and turned their heads aside, and bowed
them on their breasts, that the tears might trickle unseen.
And as they ate, the conversation turned to the holy lives
of the ascetics in the monasteries and lauras of Palestine.
" Oh " said Xenophon ; " how peaceful and glad of heart
are all there; methinks there the word of the prophet is
fulfilled, that the desert should bloom as a rose. Right
glad should I be, were my dear boys to seek such blessed
places of heavenly consolation, and lying down in those
green pastures, there find rest." " But if diey were to do
this, thou wouldst be deprived of their society," said the abbot.

"That matters not," said Xenophon; " If I could but
see their faces again, and know that they had set their hearts
on God alone, I should be comforted."

"And now," said the abbot; "let one of these monks
speak, and say why he has entered on the monastic life."
Thereupon Arcadius began with faltering voice : " I and
my brother here present were bom at Byzantium, of good
Christian parents, and the name of the one was Xenophon,
and the name of the other was Mary."

Upon this the father and mother uttered a cry, and ran,
and they were locked in the embrace of their children.

The abbot stood by and saw with joy their tears and
kisses ; and after a while he said, " Give glory to God !" so
they raised their hands and eyes to heaven, and praised
Him who had brought them together again.

But now that Xenophon and his wife had found their

394

Lives of the Saints.

[January j6.

children, they felt that there was nothing more for which
they cared on earth, and they also went into solitude, and
served God in fasting and prayers night and day. Thus the
whole family laboured with one heart for one end, the
salvation of their souls and the glory of God ; and though
separated in body, they were united in heart, and now they
dwell together in the Paradise of God.

S. BATHILD, Q.

(about A.D. 670.)

[Roman and other Martyrologies. In some, however, on Jan. 27th ; at
Paris on Jan. 30th. Authorities : her life by two contemporary writers.
The first is in plain unpolished style. Its date appears from allusio/is such
as this : — "The venerable Theudofred, who is now bishop, was then abbot."
"The illustrious offspring of Bathild, now reigning, &c." The writer of the
other expressly states that he had seen and known the virtues of her whom
he describes.]

Archimb jld, mayor of the palace, in the reign of Dago-
bert, King of France, bought a slender fair-haired English
slave girl. The name of this girl was Bathild, given her
probably because of her work, for the name signifies " the
damsel of the lady's bower."^ In service she grew up to
M'oman's estate, and was very beautiful, but, withal, adorned
with a meek and quiet spirit.

She is thus described by one of her biographers : — " Her
pious and admirable conversation attracted the admiration
of the prince, and all his ministers. For she was of a
benignant spirit and sober manners, prudent and shy, never
scheming evil, never light in talk, or pert in speech ; but in
all her actions upright. She was of Saxon race, in shape

1 B/tth-hildr in Norse, meaning the maiden (hitdr) of the Bath-sto/a, the female
apartment in a Norse, Saxon or Prankish house. She is sometimes called Bath-
Udes, sometimes Baltidis,

S. HATTTILD.

Jan.. p. 394-1

[Jan. 26.

January ,6.] 6". BatkUd. 395

graceful and pleasing, -with a bright face and a staid gait, and
as such, she found favour with the prince, so that he con-
stituted her his cup-bearer, and as such, dealing honestly, she
stood often by him ministering to him. But so far from
being lifted up by her position, she showed the utmost hu-
mility to her fellow-servants, cheerfully obeying them, minis-
tering reverently to her elders, often taking their shoes off
for them, scraping and cleaning them, and bringing them
their washing water, and mending their clothes also. All this
she did without a murmur, with gentle and pious alacrity."

Now it fell out that Archimbold lost his wife, and he
looked about for one to fill her place. Then his glance rested
on the fair-haired, blue-eyed Saxon maid, so kindly and so
obliging. But when he announced that it was his intention
to make her his wife, she was so alarmed that she hid her-
self among the under maids of the kitchen, dishevelled her
light hair, begrimed her face, and worked in rags,- so that the
mayor supposed she had gone clean away, and after a while
forgot her, and possibly thinking that such a match might
have been after all a mistake, he married some one else.
Then Bathild shook her tatters off, braided her flaxen hair,
washed her sunny face, and shone forth in her accustomed
place. But she had fled the mayor to catch the king. How
Clovis became attached to her is not recorded ; possibly he
had long noticed the meek maiden at the mayor's elbow
filling his wine goblet, and her disappearance had made him
aware of the strength of his passion. Certain it is that
shortly after, he asked her to be his lawful wife, and to sit at
his side on the throne of France. There was no escaping a
king ; and at the age of nineteen, in 649, she was married ac-
cordingly to Clovis II. As queen she exercised a most salu-
tary influence over the mind of her husband, and persuaded
him to enact many salutary laws. She became a nursing
mother to the Church in France, and exerted herself to the

>J<-

— 4-

396 Lives of the Saints. [January 26.

utmost of her power to relieve the necessities of the poor, and
ameliorate the condition of the serfs. She bore her husband
three sons, who all successively wore the crown, Clothaire
III., Childeric II., and Thierry I. After six years of married
life, in 655, Bathild was left a widow, when her eldest son
was only five years old. She then became regent of the
kingdom. The gentle queen remembered her sorrows as a
slave, and resolved to become the benefactress of the slave.
Slavery was universally and firmly established in France. To
root out such an institution at once was impossible ; it
could only be done with caution, lest it should alarm and
rouse to opposition the great slave owners. She had sufficient
penetration to discover the great cause of slavery in France.
The old Gallic population was crushed beneath an enormous
tax, to pay which mothers were obliged to sell their children,
and which reduced into bondage those unfortunates who could
not pay. This impost she abolished, and thereby cut off the
source of slavery. She also forbade the retention or pur-
chase of Christian slaves ; but, to save vested interests, this
law did not emancipate those already in bonds, but was of
future operation only. She employed, moreover, all the
money she could spare in the purchase out of bondage of
such children as mothers had sold, out of dire necessity.
She also sent ambassadors to all the European courts, to
announce that the sale of French subjects was strictly for-
bidden, and that any slave who should set foot on French
soil would be held from that moment to be free.

Bathild also founded a large number of religious houses.
France was then overspread with forests ; vast districts were
pathless wildernesses, uninhabited by men. Old cities which
had thriven under the Roman empire had fallen into niins,
and the wolf made his lair in the deserted chambers. How
was all this desolation to be remedied, this waste land to be
reclaimed ? A number of men must be gathered together

->^

^ — >^

January a6.] i^". Theoritgitka. 397

at certain spots, and these must become civilizing centres,
diffusing knowledge amongst the people, and cultivating the
soil. Such were the monasteries. They were dotted about
in the wildest parts of the vast woods, and litrie by little the
trees were cleared away about them, and pastures and corn
land usurped their place, and with the advance of agri-
culture, civilization spread. Bathild founded Corbie, Chelles,
and Jumieges, besides others of less note. Towards the
close of her days, when her son Clothaire was of an age to
govern, she retired into the monastery of Chelles, where she
finished her days in peace, dying at the age of fifty, in 680.

S. THEORITGITHA, V., AT BARKING.

(7TH CENT.)

[Anglican Martyrologies, but new Anglo-Roman Martyrology,.Jan. 23,
Authority : Bede's Eccl. Hist. lib. 4. c. 9.]

Theoritgitha was a holy sister in the convent of Bark-
ing on the Thames, under the rule of the abbess Ethelberga.
" She had always endeavoured to serve God in all humility
and sincerity," says Bede, " and she took care to assist this
same mother in keeping up regular discipline, by instructing
and reproving the younger ones." She suffered nine years
from a cruel distemper, which purified her soul. She saw in
a vision a sign of the approaching death of S. Ethelberga.

^ >f<

398

Lives of the Saints.

[January 27.

January 27.

S. JOLIAN, B., of Mans, in France.

S. [ULIAN, M., at Atina, in Italy, cire. a.d. 133.

S. Devota, r. M., in Corsica, circ. a.d. 303.

S. Peter the Egyptian, H., in Syria, circ. a.d. 400.

S. Chrysostom, B. D., at Constantinople, a.d. 407.

S. DoMiTiAN, Monk and Deacon in Judea, a.d. 473,

S. MaRius, ylb. of La--val-benoit, near Sisteron, in France, 6th cent,

S. l.upus, B., of Chalons-sur-Saone, in France, beginning of "jth cent.

S. ViTALlAN, Pope of Rome, a.d. 6yi.

S. Emerius, Ab., and his motkir, S. Candida, at Banoles, in Spain,

end of 8th cent.
S. Gamelbert, p., in Ba-varia, end of 8th cent.
S. SuLPicius, B., of S. Ghislain in Belgium.
S. Theodoric I!., B. of Orleans, a.d. 1022
S. GiLDWiN, Can. of Del, in Brittany, a.d. 1077.
S. John, B. of French Flanders, a.d. 1130.

S. JULIAN, B. OF MANS.
(date uncertain.)

[Called the Apostle of Celtic Gaul ; he is commemorated on this day in
the Roman Martyrology. In the Paris Martyrology on the 28th Jan.,
others on the 31st ; that of Cologne on 26th Jan. In the Roman Martyr-
o'ogy he is said to have been sent by S. Peter into Gaul ; but as BoUandus
has shown, this is ari error. His Ufe was written by one Brother Lethald
in, or about, A.D. 990.]

AINT JULIAN was the first to carry the Hght
of the Gospel into that portion of France of
which Le Mans is the capital. There he
laboured with great success, destroyed the idol
which the people worshipped, and persuaded great numbers
to be baptized. His life, written several hundreds of years
after his death, is of small authority, and contains little of
interest. His relics were given to Paderbom in Westphalia,
in 1 143.

/anuary 37.) S. DcVOta. 399

S. DEVO'J'A, V. M., IN CORSICA.
(about a.d. 303.)

[Deivota seems to have been the correct form of her name, but she is
usually called Devota. Authority ; her Acts.]

Deivota, or Devota was brought up from childhood in
the Christian faith ; when she was quite young, she was
taken into the house of Eutyches, a senator, and probably a
relation.

Eutyches was not a Christian, but he was a kindly
disposed man, who disliked persecution. On the publication
of the edict of Diocletian against Christianity, he sacrificed
along with the other senators ; but the governor, being told
that he sheltered in his house a little Christian maiden,
ordered him to be poisoned, and Devota to be executed
with great barbarity. Her feet were tied together, and she
was dragged over rough ground till her limbs were dis-
located, and she was cut and bruised over her entire
person. When, after this, she was stretched on the rack,
she besought Jesus Christ to release her. Her prayer was
heard, and with a gentle sigh she expired. At the same
moment a white dove was seen fluttering over her; it
expanded its pure wings, and mounting, was lost in the deep
blue of the sky. During the night a devout priest, named
Benenatus, a deacon, Apollinarius, and a believing boat-
man, Gratian by name, removed her body, and placing it
amidst spices in the little skifif, rowed out to sea. Then a
white dove appeared, skimming over the water, then wait-
ing, and hovering before them, then darting forward ; and
they, remembering the apparition at her death, followed the
guidance of the dove, and reached Monaco, where they
laid her.

400 Lives of the Saints. [January 27.

S. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, B. D.
(a.d. 407.)

[Authorities : Socrates, Sozomen, life by Palladius, and his own writings,

&C.J

John Chrysostom was the son of Secundus, a military
officer, bom about 347, at Antioch, and on his father's
death, soon afterwards, he became indebted for a careful
and Christian training to his pious mother, Anthusa. He
studied rhetoric under the accomplished pagan teacher Li-
banius, who afterwards, on being asked to name his own
successor, replied, " John would be the fittest, if the Chris-
tians had not stolen him."

He was baptized by Meletius, patriarch of Antioch ; his
chief friend was S. Basil, and Anthusa's earnest pleadings
were required to counteract Basil's proposal that they should
both retire into monastic life. Chrysostom, as we may most
conveniently call him, could not resist his mother's appeal ;
he continued to live at home, but in the practice of monastic
asceticism and the diligent reading of Scripture. He studied
theology under Diodore, the companion of Flavian, who had
been the champions of orthodoxy against Arianism, first as
laymen, and afterwards as priests, in Antioch. Meletius,
who had baptized John Chrysostom, was himself a confessor.
It was probably about 372-374 that Chrysostom and Basil
were spoken of as likely to be made bishops ; and Chrysos-
tom, by a singular artifice — the justification of which forms
the least pleasing portion of his treatise " On the Priest-
hood,"— procured Basil's consecration while evading the
burden himself

For several years he carried out the plan which, during
his mother's lifetime he had abandoned, living first in ceno-
bitic "tabernacles," and afterwards as a hermit in a cave,
until his health, never robust, gave way, and he was

►i,-

January 37.J S. J oJlll CJirySOStOVl. 4O I

obliged to return to Antioch, where he entered the
ministry.

Early in 387, an increase of taxes provoked the people of
Antioch to sedition. They threw down the brazen statues
of the Emperor Theodosius, and his deceased wife, the pious
and charitable Flacilla. Flavian, who had been elected and
consecrated patriarch, on the death of Meletius, set forth a
little before Lent, to appease the emperor, and met the
officers of the empire, sent from court to avenge the insult.
His absence was well supplied by Chrysostom, who had
recently received priest's orders, and who began to turn this
trouble to account by a course of " Sermons on the Statues,"
as they are called. In these he endeavoured to allay the
people's terror, and to convince them of their besetting sins
— of which swearing was the chief — and so far succeeded,
that the churches were thronged all day. The people of
Antioch were pardoned by the emperor at the intercession
of the patriarch.

S. Chrysostom had been five years deacon, and twelve
years priest, when Nectarius, bishop of Constantinople died,
in 397, after an episcopate which had relaxed the general
tone of the clergy. " Then," says the biographer of S.
Chrysostom, "there came together some who were not
wanted, priests unworthy of the priesthood, besetting the
palace gates, resorting to bribery, falling on their knees even,
before the people." Disgusted by this scandalous eagerness
for an office which saints were wont to dread, the faithful
entreated Arcadius, the Emperor, to look out for one who
could administer it worthily. Eutropius, the emperors
chamberlain, had learned by visiting Antioch to admire the
character of Chrysostom. He made Arcadius write to the
military commander at Antioch, desiring him to send the
priest John to Constantmople, without causing any public
excitement. The commander sent a message to Chrysostom,

VOL. I. 26

—^

►p-

-•5«

402

Lives of the Saints.

[January 25.

asking him to meet him " at the Church of the Martyrs, near
the Roman Gate." Chrysostom compHed ; was placed in a
pubUc conveyance, and hurried away from the scene of his
early life and priestly labours. Several bishops were sum-
moned for the consecration. Theophilus of Alexandria had
come to Constantinople to solicit the appointment for his
priest Isidore. He was required to consecrate Chrysostom,
but endeavoured to withdraw, reading the decision and
earnestness of Chrysostom in his face, and disliking him, for
he was a thoroughly worldly, self-seeking prelate. Eutropius
showed him some papers, however, saying, " Choose be-
tween consecrating John, and undergoing a trial on the
charges made against you in these documents." Theophilus
could make no reply. He consecrated Chrysostom on Feb.
26th, A.D. 398 ; but he never forgave him for having been
the cause of this severe mortification.

Over a city in which intrigue and adulation were prac-
tised as the royal road to honour, John Chrysostom, straight
forward and outspoken, was set as patriarch. He came to
be chief shepherd over a clergy given up to ease and sycop-
hancy, flattering the rich and powerful, fawning on the
emperor for place, and betraying their charge, the poor.

Chrysostom set to work at once as a reformer of abuses.
He forbad the clergy frequenting the banquets of great men ;
he struggled against the practice of entertaining " spiritual
sisters." Several clergy were deprived ; Chrysostom drew
upon himself the bitter dislike of many members of their
body. He examined the accounts of the church-stewards,
cut off superfluous expenses, and ordered the sum thus
saved to be applied to the maintenance of hospitals. He
scrutinized the lives of the widows receiving pension from
the Church ; he earnestly besought contributions to a fund
for the poor ; he exhorted the faithful to attend the nocturnal
services, but to leave their wives at home with the children.

— *

January 2?.] S. J oJlU CkryS0St07n. 4O3

He rebuked the rich for their pride and selfishness. So great
was the charm of his "golden tongued" eloquence, and of
the unmistakeable nobleness and sincerity of his character,
that " the city put on a new aspect of piety ;" and the wor-
ship of the Catholics became more real, and their lives more
earnest and pure.

Among those of the higher classes in Constantinople
who were offended by the uncompromising character of their
new archbishop, was Eutropius, the chamberlain, who had
raised him to the see. He desired to see the Church respect-
able and subservient, the patriarch pious and obedient, to
the state. The Church, in his view, was a portion of the state
organization, the clergy the moral police, always to be under
the direction of the crown. But under Chrysostom's govern-
ment it was becoming unmanageable and independent. To
curtail its liberties, he procured a law to annul the right of
asylum in the churches, which had been growing up during
the century. But he was soon driven himself, by a revolu-
tion in the emperor's counsels, to clasp the altar as the safe-
guard of his life. Chrysostom violated the new law in
defence of its author ; and while Eutropius lay cowering in
the sanctuary, bade the people take home this new lesson on
the vanity of vanities. " The altar," said he, " is more awful
than ever, now that it holds the lion chained." He called
on his hearers to beg the emperor's clemency, or rather, to
ask the God of mercy to save Eutropius from threatened
death, and enable him to put away his many crimes. He
bravely withstood the court in the cause of Christian hu-
manity ; but Eutropius himself quitted the church, and was
condemned to exile.

At this time the Origenist controversy was raging with
great acrimony. It is difficult to pronounce an opinion
upon it. Origen had unquestionably published some
heretical opinions, but some were also attributed to him

404 Lives of the Saints. [January 37.

which he did not hold. Theophilus of Alexandria had
leaned strongly towards the Origenists, but he was not a
man of principle, and he adopted that view which suited his
purposes at the time. Finding it would answer his ends
better to oppose Origenism, he denounced it in his Paschal
letters, in 401. The monks and hermits of Egypt had been
regarded with an evil eye by heathens, Axians, and insincere
Christians. All the learned, the philosophers, and men of
letters, among the pagans, were emulous in their protest.
The impassioned activity of the monks agamst idolatry,
their efforts, more and more successful, to extirpate it from
the heart of the rural population, naturally exasperated the
last defenders of the idols. The Arians were still more
implacable than the Pagans. The tendency of these
enemies of the Divinity of Christ was in everything to
abuse, degrade, and restrain the spirit of Christianity. How
should the monastic life, which was its most magnificent
development escape their fury? The war between them
and the monks was therefore long and cruel. The per-
secution which Paganism had scarcely time to light up to its
own advantage under Julian, was pitiless under the Arian
Constantius, and more skilful, without being more suc-
cessful, under the Arian Valens. In the time of Constantius,
entire monasteries, with the monks they contained, were
burnt in Egypt, and in the frightful persecution under the
Arian patriarch Lucius, raised in Alexandria, a troop of
imperial soldiers ravaged the solitude of Nitria, and mas-
sacred its inhabitants. And now Lucius was succeeded by
the woridly, ambitious, and utterly unspiritual Theophilus,
who hated the poor monks of the desert as a living reproach
upon his own self-seeking, and his aim to accommodate
Christianity to worldliness. He soon quarrelled with S.
Isidore the hospitaller, who had suffered under the Arian
Lucius, and whom he now drove from Alexandria, hating

^^-

January z^.J S. J oJlil ChvySOStOm. \0^

him, as those holding to mammon always will hate those
who hold to Christ. Isidore fled to Nitria. Theophilus
brought the charge of Origenism against the monks there.
The chief Nitrian monks were Dioscorus, Bishop of Nitria,
Ammonius, Eusebius, and Euthymius ; they were known as
the "Tall Brothers." Theophilus ordered them to be
expelled ; when they came to remonstrate, his eyes flashed,
his face became livid, he threw his episcopal pall round the
neck ot Ammonius, struck him on the face with open palm
and clenched fist, and cried, " Heretic, anathematize
Origen !" They returned to Nitria; the patriarch, in a
synod, condemned them unheard, and proceeded by night
to attack their monasteries, at the head of a drunken band.
Dioscorus was dragged from his throne; the cells of the
other three were burned, together with copies of both
Testaments, and even the reserved portions of the Holy
Eucharist. It was sd^d that a boy perished in the flames.
The brothers, with many of their companions, fled to
Scythopolis in Palestine, hoping to support themselves in a
place famous for palms, by their occupation of weaving
palm-baskets. The enmity of Theophilus hunted them out
of this refuge ; they reached Constantinople, and fell at
Chrysostom's feet, '* Who is it," asked he with tears, " that
has injured you ?" They answered, " Pope Theophilus ;
prevail upon him, father, to let us live in Egypt, for we have
never done aught against him or against our Saviour's law."
He lodged them in the church called Anastasia ; allowed
them to attend the service, but prudently, to avoid, if pos-
sible, a breach with their persecutor, debarred them from
the communion. They had been condemned by their own
patriarch, and it was not for him to admit them to com-
munion without a fair investigation and authoritative excul-
pation. He wrote to Theophilus, in the tone of a " son and
brother," praying him to be reconciled to the fugitives ; but

4o6 Lives of the Saints. uanuar)- 27.

Theophilus, who disclaimed his right to interfere, defamed
them as sorcerers and heretics. The Tall Brothers now
appealed to the emperor and empress, who ordered Theo-
philus to be summoned, and the accusations against the
brothers made by him to be examined. The accusations
were soon proved to be groundless. Theophilus, who
openly said he was " going to court in order to depose
John," arrived in Constantinople in June, 402, with a load
of gifts for the emperor, the empress, and the court, from
Egypt and India. He at once assumed a tone of con-
tumelious hostility towards S. Chrysostom. He would not
visit or speak to him ; he even abstained from entering
the church.

While Chrysostom declined to hear judicially the com-
plaints of the Tall Brothers, Theophilus was concocting a
scheme for his deposition. All the courtiers among the
bishops, and the worldly among the clergy desired it, for
their tempers rebelled against godly discipline, and the ex-
ample of his own self-denial was a standing protest against
their self-indulgence. Acacius, Bishop of Berrhoea, had been
provided with so homely a lodging by Chrysostom that he
joined the malcontents, venting his spleen in the curious
menace, " I will cook a dish for him !" Eudoxia, the em-
press, who had heard of a sermon in which Chrysostom had
lashed the pride of women, took the side of his enemies,
who determined to hold a council at a suburb of Chalcedon,
called " The Oak." The bishops who attended were thirty-
six. Twenty-nine charges were advanced against the patri-
arch. Some were of open violence ; that he had beaten and
chained a monk, had struck a man in church so as to draw
blood, and then had offered the sacrifice. Others were of
evil speaking ; he had said his clergy " were not worth three-
pence ;" he had accused three deacons of having stolen his
palL He was also charged with misconduct in his office ;

J, ^

January 27.] S. J oJlJl CJirySOStom. 407

he sold church furniture, had been careless in conferring
orders ; he was unsociable, gave women private interviews,
was irreverent in church, and ate wafers while sitting on his
throne. Some of these charges were gross exaggerations of
that plain-spoken severity which knew no respect of persons.
Others were inventions more or less malignant. One of the
basest was the charge about disposing of church ornaments.
Like other saints, he had done so for the sake of the suffer-
ing poor.

While these charges were being read at the Oak, he sat in
his palace with forty bishops, and consoled them by quoting
texts of Scripture. " I am now ready to be offered. Do
not weep and break my heart ! To me to live is Christ, and
to die is gain."

Now entered two young bishops from the council at the
Oak citing " John " to appear, with other clergy. The forty
bishops sent a deputation to remonstrate with Theophilus.
Chrysostom, for himself, sent word that he objected to Theo-
philus and three others as disqualified, by avowed hostility,
to be his judges. A bishop, named Isaac, produced a new
list of charges, three of which were remarkable. He had
used strong language about fervour of rapturous devotion.
He had been emphatic in his assurances of Divine long-
suffering. This was denounced as an encouragement of
sinners in their sins; but it was forgotten that he had warned
men against presuming thereon. " He had eaten before ad-
ministering baptism," that is the Paschal baptism which was
followed immediately by a celebration of the Holy Eucharist,
and which therefore implied non-fasting performance of the
sacrifice; and "he had given the Eucharist to persons who
were not fasting ;" two charges which he vehemently denied.
" If I have done this, may my name be effaced from the roll of
bishops," he said. The council pronounced him contuma-
cious, and deposed him, requesting the emperor, Arcadius,

* *

4o8

Lives of the Saints.

[January 27.

also to punish him for insolence towards Eudoxia. This
was in 403.

Appealing in vain to a more just tribunal, Chrysostom
was dragged from his church, and hurried by night into
Bithynia. That night an earthquake shook the palace ;
Eudoxia, frightened at the omen, wrote to the exile, entreat-
ing him to return. He was escorted to the city by a joyous
multitude, bearing tapers and chanting psalms, who forced
him, in spite of the irregularity of such a proceeding, to
ascend his throne, before the sentence of the council of the
Oak could be annulled. This was, however, speedily done
by a synod of sixty bishops ; the hostile assembly could not
stand its ground, and Theophilus, after meanly forcing the
two surviving brothers, on the ground of their monastic
obedience, to ask his pardon, consulted his safety by flight
to Alexandria.

New troubles soon began. In September of the same
year 403, a silver statue of the Empress Eudoxia was
erected near the cathedral, and the Manichean governor of
the city encouraged wild and heathenish dancing in its
honour, which interrupted the church service. Chiysostom
spoke strongly on the subject, and was said to have begun a
sermon with the words, "Again Herodias rages, again she
demands the head of John." The foes of the archbishop
seized the opportunity. His old enemy Theophilus sent
three bishops to Constantinople. The feeble Emperor
Arcadius was persuaded to order that Chrysostom should be
refused the use of the churches. Easter-eve came, April 16.
Arcadius said to the chief adversaries of Chrysostom, " See
to it, that you are not giving me wrong counsel." " On our
heads," they answered, "be the deposition of John!" One
of the forty faithful bishops bade the haughty empress fear
God, and have pity on her own children. As the churches
were closed to S. John Chrysostom, he held the solemn

^ — _ _ >J<

January 37.] S. J okfl CkrySOStOm. 4O9

services of the day in the Baths of Constantine. Thither
the people thronged, abandoning the churches. The
courtier bishops complained, and it was resolved to break
up this assembly. A band of soldiers was sent together
with four hundred barbarian recruits to clear the bath,
about 9 p.m. They pressed onwards to the font, dispersed
the catechumens, for on that day it was customary to
baptize gTeat numbers, struck the priests on the head until
their blood was mingled with the baptismal water, rushed up
to the altar where the sacred Body and Blood were reserved
for communicating the newly baptized, and overthrew them,
so that as S. Chrysostom says in his letter to Pope Innocent
of Rome, "the most holy Blood of Christ, as might be
expected in so great a tumult, was spilled on the clothes of
the soldiers." Thus were the Arian horrors renewed. On
Easter-day, Arcadius, riding out of the city, saw some three
thousand newly baptized in their white robes. " Wlio are
those persons?" he asked. "They are heretics," was the
answer; and a new onslaught was made upon them.
During the paschal season, those who would not disown S.
Chrysostom were cast into prison. Within the churches,
instead of the joyful worship of the season, were heard the
sounds of torture, and the terrible oaths by which men were
commanded to anathematize the archbishop. His life was
twice attempted ; his people guarded his house ; he wrote
an account of what had happened to the Bishops of Rome,
Milan and Aquileia. Pope Innocent, who had already
heard Theophilus' version of the story, continued his com-
munion for the present to both parties, but summoned
Theophilus to attend a council.

Towards the end of Whitsun-week, Arcidius was pre-
vailed upon to send another mandate to Chrysostom—
" Commend your affairs to God, and depart." Chrysostom
was persuaded to depart secretly ; he called his friends to

-►i<

410

Lives of the Saints.

[January 27,

prayer ; kissed them, bade farewell in the baptistry to the
deaconesses, and desired them to submit to a new bishop,
if he were ordained without having solicited the see. " The
Church cannot be without a bishop," Whilst the people
waited for him to mount his horse at the great western door,
he went out at the eastern ; repeating to himself the words
of Job, " Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and
naked I return thither !"

This was his final expulsion, June 20th, 404 ; he crossed
over to Bithynia, while a fire broke out which consumed the
cathedral and the palace of the senate. Some ascribed it to
incendiaries ; others called it a sign of divine wrath. Several
of Chrysostom's friends, the '' JO''i'^i^ites," as they were called,
were cruelly treated, as if guilty of the fire.^

The place of his exile Avas Cucusus, in Annenia ; and
there, after a journey, the pain of which was only alleviated
by marks of sympathy and reverence, he arrived in the middle
of September. The bishop of Cucusus offered to resign his
see in his favour ; and Dioscorus, a man of rank, entreated
him as a favour to occupy his own house, which he fitted up
for the exile's convenience, with a liberality against which
Chrysostom writes, " I am continually exclaiming." Very
soon after he reached Cucusus, the Empress Eudoxia bore
a dead child and expired.

Pope Innocent wrote to the exile, exhorting him to
patience by Scriptural examples. " A good man can be ex-
ercised, but he cannot be overcome, while the Divine Scrip-
tures fortify his mind. Venerable brother, let your conscience
comfort you." He also wrote to the clergy and laity of
Constantinople, declaring his intention of holding a General
Council for the composing of these miserable quarrels.
The saintly exile in Cucusus, while suffering from illness

' See concerning the fire and subsequent persecution in the account of SS.
Eutropius and Tygris, Jan. 12th ; p. 163.

January 27.] 5'. J oJin Ckrysostom. 411

and intense cold, and in constant peril from freebooters,
continued to discharge the office of a good shepherd. He
wrote letter after letter to the faithful lady Olympias in
Constantinople, exhorting her to remember that the only
trial really terrible was sin. He lamented that faithful
bishops were suffering for adherence to his communion ; he
exliorted them and their clergy to be of good courage. His
pastoral thoughtfulness extended far beyond a merely general
care for his brethren's welfare. We find him rebuking two
priests of Constantinople, one of whom had only preached
five times between his expulsion and October, while the
other had not preached once ; setting on foot a mission to
the pagans of Phoenicia ; anxious to have a good bishop
consecrated for the Goths ; drawing tighter the old ties
which bound him to the clergy of Antioch, and employing
part of his friend's contributions in the redemption of cap-
tives, and the relief of the poor.

Pope Innocent now boldly espoused his cause, as that of
a confessor for righteousness' sake. He assembled a synod,
and persuaded Honorius, Emperor of the West, who had
already remonstrated with Arcadius, Emperor of the East,
to write in a more peremptory tone, demanding a council at
Thessalonica, and pointing out Theophilus of Alexandria
as the reputed author of the present evils.

Towards the end of the year, the furious incursions of
the Isaurian robbers, filling the country with rapine and
bloodshed, compelled S. Chrysostom to take shelter in the
castle of Arabiscus. The winter was again a time of dis-
comfort ; he could not obtain a sufficiency of medicines ;
and the snow-drifts prevented him from receiving his
friend's letters. About this time the western delegates
sent from Rome with four eastern bishops who had gone
thither to plead the cause of Chrysostom, were intercepted
on tlieir way to Constantinople, and confined in a fortress,

412 Lives of the Saints. [January 37.

their credentials were violently wrung from them, and
instead of being allowed to see Arcadius, the westerns were
sent back to Italy, the easterns banished to the frontiers
of the empire. On their way they were cruelly harassed,
robbed of their money, wearied by prolonged days' journeys,
and compelled to lodge in the lowest haunts of profligacy.
One of them consoled his brethren by observing that their
presence recalled the wretched women to thoughts of God,
which might result in their salvation, and His glory. That
the persecution was in great measure a systematic revenge
on Chrysostom as the representative of clerical strictness,
is evidenced by such a fact as that a venerable man named
Hilary was scourged, not by a judge, but by the clergy.
Chrysostom wrote to thank his western friends for their
sympathy, and sent a second letter to Pope Innocent,
assuring him that " in the third year of exile, amid famine,
pestilence, war, sieges, indescribable solitude, and daily
peril from Isaurian swords, he was greatly consoled and
delighted by Innocent's genuine, stedfast, and abundant
charity."

The \\anter of 406-7 was severe, but Chrysostom pre-
served his health by never stirring out of a close and well-
warmed chamber. In the summer his enemies, dreading
his influence on the people of Antioch, who went to visit
him, procured an order for his removal to Pityus on
tlie shores of the Black Sea, the last fortress of the empire.
His guards were ordered to exhaust him by long journeys.
Through scorching heat and drenching rains, he was hurried
on, and never allowed the refreshment of the bath ; one
only of the guards being disposed to show him furrive
kindnesses. For three months this painful journey lasted ;
at length they halted at the Church of S. Basisliscus, a short
distance from Comana, in Pontus. That night, the sufferer
had a foreboding that his release was at hand. The martyr

. — . ^

January 27.] S. y oJlU ChrySOSt077t. 4I3

Basiliscus appeared to him and said, " Courage, brother
John, to-morrow we shall be together." In the morning,
Sept. 14, 407, he begged to be allowed to stay in the
church until eleven o'clock in the forenoon. It could not
be ; he was forced to proceed, but after travelling about
four miles, he was so evidently dying, that they returned to
the church. There he asked for white garments, and ex-
changed for them those which he wore. He was still
fasting; he received the Holy Communion, doubdess from
the priest of the church, offered up his last prayer, added
his usual thanksgiving, " Glory to God for all things," and
sealed it wdth a final. Amen. " Then he stretched out his
feet, which had run so beauteously for the salvation of the
penitent, and the rebuke of the habitual sinners," and
calmly expired, in about the sixtieth year of his age, and in
the tenth of his episcopate. He was buried beside the
martyr Basiliscus, the funeral being attended by a throng of
virgins and monks from Syria, Cilicia, Pontus, and Armenia.
No comment on his glorious life could be so expressive as
the doxology \vith which it closed, and which, gathering
into one view all its contrasts, recognised not only in
success and honour, but in cruel outrage, and homeless
desolation, the gracious presence of a never-changing Love.^

S. LUPUS, B. OF CHALONS.

{7TH CENT.)
[Called in France Loup, Leul, or Leu. He was canonized by Pope John
VITI, in 879 ; he is commemorated on this day at Chalons ; also there on
April 30th, the day of his canonization. His life is by an anonymous wTiter,
who says that he wrote it from the remembrance of those who had read the
Acts of S. Lupus which had been destroyed by fire.]

S. Lupus, Bishop of Cabilinum, or Chalons sur Saone,
flourished about the year 6io. He was the son of honour-

1 This life is, for the most p.art, taken from the Rev. Canon Bright's " Hist, of
the Church from a.d. 313 to a.d. 4S1." London, 1863.

^— >j,

414 Lives of the Saints. [January »).

able parents, and he commended himself to the people by
his abundant charity, his self-denial, and his tenderness to
the sick. Chalons being ill-provided with drinking water,
and the soil dry and sandy, he miraculously provided it
with an abundant spring which flows to the present day.
The story is thus told. He stood one day with his ivory
pastoral staff in hand watching the hay makers; the sun was
hot, and the labourers were exhausted. Moved with compas-
sion, and knowing that the turbid waters of the river were
unfit to drink, he struck his staff into the sand, and a limpid
spring bubbled up. When dying he sent for the governor of
Chalons, and begged him to pardon the unfortunate
wretches who languished in the prison under sentence of
death. The governor roughly refused. After Lupus was
dead, his funeral passed the city prison, and the bier was set
down at that place. The prisoners stretched their hands
through the bars of their windows crjdng piteously. In-
stantly their chains fell off, the doors flew open, and they
were set at liberty.

S. THEODORIC II, B. C. OF ORLEANS.
(a.d. 1022.)

[Called in France Thierry. Authority : an ancient life in Bollandus.]

S. Thierry was born at Chateau Thierry, so called from
an ancestor of the saint, whose family was noble and
wealthy. He was taken to court and gained the confidence
of King Robert the Good. On the death of Bishop Amulf
of Orleans, Thierry was elected, with the consent of the king,
to fill the vacant see. His appointment was opposed by a
priest named Adalric who had desired the throne for him-
self, and who had the indecency to burst into the church
with a band of armed men, and thrust up to the very altar,

January 27.J .S. Thcodoric. d 1 5

uttering violent menaces, when Thierry was being con-
secrated, in the hopes of terrifying the consecrating bishops
from what they were doing. Afterwards the priest at the
head of a party of ruffians waylaid the Bishop by night, in a
lane, and throwing him from his horse, ran him through, as
they believed, with a sword. The weapon providentially
cut through his garments without wounding him ; and when
the would-be assassins had fled, he rose and regained the
city. Adalric, fearing the consequences, threw himself on
the compassion of the Bishop, and asked his pardon, which
Thierry frankly accorded him. Thierry died on a journey
at Tonnerre, where his kinsman Count Milo built the church
of S. Michael over his body. He was succeeded on the
throne of Orleans by the priest Adalric.

S. JOHN, B. OF FRENCH FLANDERS.

(a.d. 1 130.)

This saint was forced into the episcopate by Pope Urban
against his desire. He was a most meek and gentle-spirited
man, full of thought for others, but severe upon himself, as
was evidenced by one little fact noticed by his biographer.
He was wont to rise very early to his prayers, and when he
did so, he took the greatest care not to disturb others in the
room and house. When he was dying, crowds of people
came to see his loved face for the last time, and he gave them
his benediction, and died in so doing.

^ i^

416 Lives of the Saints. [January aa.

January 28.

SS. Thyrsus, Leucius and Others, MM., in ^tia, a.d. 350.

SS. Emilian, B., Hilarian, Mk., and Others, MM., at Tre-vi, in

Umbria, a.d. 303.
S. Valerius, B. of Saragoisa, beginning 0/ ^th cent.
S. Palladius, H., in Syria, end of 4th ctnt,
S. Cyril, Pat. of JUxandria, a.d. 444.
S. John, y4b. of Reomay, circ. a.d. 545.
S. JAMES, //., in Palestine, 6th cent.
S. Paulimis, Pair, of ylquileia, a.d. S04.
B. Charlemagne, Emp., a.d. 814.
S. Richard, Ab. of FaUelles, in France, 12th cent.
S. lULlAN, B. of Cuenca, in Spain, a.d. 1207.
B. Margaret, of Hungary, KO.S.D.; a.p. 1371.
B. Gentile, /r., at Ra-venna, a.d. 1^30.

SS. THYRSUS, LEUCIUS, CALLTNICUS,

AND OTHERS, MM.

(a.d. 250.)

[Roman Kalendar on Jan. 28th ; Greek Menaea on Dec. 14th ; Mart.
attributed to S. Jerome on Jan. 20th. The martyrs not having all suffered
the same day or in the same places, has led to considerable variety in the
days of their commemoration. Their Acts are extant in three forms, agree-
ing together in most particulars, and evidently amplifications by different
hands of the original Acts. They are not to be implicitly relied upon.]

[N the reign of the Emperor Decius, Combritius,
the governor of Bithynia, made the circuit of the
province, to carry into execution the severe im-
perial edict against the Christians. Being a man
of a naturally cruel disposition he subjected those brought
before him to the most exquisite tomients his ingenuity
could devise. Thyrsus had his eyelids pierced, and rings
put through them, and molten lead was poured down his
back. His arms and legs were broken. He died in prison.
Leucius was hung up, and torn with iron hooks, and then
decapitated ; Callinicus and several others suffered in this
persecution by various deaths.

^ ^

January 28.] ^'6'. Valevius and Palladms. 417

S. VALERIUS, B. OF SARAGOSSA.

(beginning of 4TH CENT.)
[Roman Martyrology, but in others on Jan. 19th, 22th, 23rd, or 29th.]

Of this saint little is known, except that he associated
with him S. Vincent, to speak for him, he having an
impediment in his speech. When Dacian persecuted the
Church, S. Valerius was taken to Valentia and there
imprisoned. When brought forth and interrogated, his
nervousness prevented him from articulating a word, there-
fore Vincent, the deacon, spoke for him. Vincent was
ordered to execution, but Valerius was banished.

S. PALLADIUS, H. IN SYRIA.

(end of 4TH CENT.)

[This Palladius is not to be confounded with the author of the Historia
Lausiaca. He is mentioned by Theodoret, who relates of him all that is
known.]

Palladius was a friend of Simeon the Ancient ; they
often met to encourage one another in the practice of self-
denial and prayer. One incident in the life of this hermit
has been alone transmitted to us. Not far from his cell was
a frequented market. A merchant who had been at it was
waylaid, robbed and murdered by a man who, after having
done the deed, cast the body by the door of the hermit's cell.
Next day a crowd assembled, instigated by the murderer,
and with threatening looks and words, they broke open the
hermit's door, and drew him forth, charging l.im ^vith the
murder. Then Palladius raised his hands and eyes to
heaven and prayed. And when his prayer was concluded,
he turned to the corpse and said, " Young man, designate
the murderer!" Thereupon the dead man partly rose,

VOL. I. 27
*

* ^ *

418 Lives of the Saints. [January as.

raised his hand and pointed at him who had killed him ;
and when he was apprehended, articles belonging to the
deceased were discovered upon him.

S. CYRIL, PATR. OF ALEXANDRIA,
(a.d. 444.)

[Roman Martyrology. The Greeks celebrate the memory of S. Cyril on
June 9th, and commemorate him together with S. Athanasius on June i8th.
Authorities: Socrates, Sozomen, Marius Mercator, the Acts of the council
of Ephesus, and his own letters and treatises &c.l

This great champion of the faith has been attacked by
modern writers as passionate and intolerant ; it is true that
he was guilty of several errors in administrating his
patriarchate, and that his impetuosity gave the impulse
which led to serious violation of justice. But we must
remember that no man, not the greatest of saints, is without
imperfection of character, and that the greatest of saints are
they who, having serious natural defects, have mastered them
by their faith and self-control. S. Cyril began his patriarch-
ate under disadvantageous circumstances. He was the
nephew of Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, Chrysostom's
worst enemy, a man devoid of principle, wholly given up to
pride of station; on October 15th, 412, he closed his
episcopate of twenty-seven years ; a melancholy instance of
great powers rendered baneful to the Church by a worldly
spirit and a violent temper. He was succeeded by his
nephew Cyril. The evil of his uncle's example hung about
him for some time, obscuring the nobleness which was to
shine out afterwards. He desired above all things the
ascendancy of the Church ; as to the means of obtaining
which, he had fewer scruples than became a minister of

^^-

January 38.] S. Cyvil. 4I9

Him who rebuked the attack on Malchus. He closed the
Novatian church, took away its sacred ornaments, and
deprived its Bishop of his property. The Jews of
Alexandria — a powerful body during many centuries — had
procured the disgrace and punishment of Hierax, an
admirer of Cyril's sermons. Cyril, naturally indignant,
menaced the chief of their community ; the Jews' revenge
was to raise a cry at midnight, "The Church of S.
Alexander is on fire !" and to massacre those Christians
who rushed out to save their church. Cyril appears to
have made up his mind that the Christians must right them,
without expecting justice from the prsefect Orestes, and he
organized at day-break a force which attacked the syna-
gogues, expelled the Jews from Alexandria, and treated
their property as rightful spoil. Orestes, exasperated at
this hasty and lawless vengeance, would not listen to the
explanations which Cyril offered ; and the archbishop, after
vainly holding out the Gospels to enforce his attempts at a
reconciliation, gave up all hopes of peace. Five hundred
monks of Nitria, inflamed by a furious partisanship, entered
the city and reviled the prsefect as a pagan. " I am a
Christian," he exclaimed; "Atticus of Constantinople
baptized me." A monk named Ammonius disproved his
own Christianity by throwing a stone at the praefect, which
inflicted a ghastly wound. He was seized, and expired
under tortures ; but Cyril so miserably forgot himself as to
call this rufiian an " admirable " martyr, a proceeding of
which he was afterwards heartily ashamed. Then followed
a darker tragedy. Hypatia, a learned lady, and teacher of
philosophy, and a heathen, who had great influence in the
city in opposing Christianity, was supposed to have em-
bittered Orestes against Cyril; and some fiery zealots,
headed by a reader of the church, named Peter, dragged
her from her house and tore her to pieces, limb from hmb.

•J^-

420

Lives of the Saints.

[January a8.

Cyril was no party to this hideous deed,^ but it was the
work of men whose passions he had originally called out.
Had there been no onslaught on the synagogues, there
would have been no murder of Hypatia. The people of
Alexandria were singularly fiery and given to civil con-
tensions. Gibbon says of them, " The most trifling occasion,
a transient scarcity of flesh or lentils, the neglect of an ac-
customed salutation, a mistake of precedency in the public
baths, or even a religious dispute, were at any time suffi-
cient to kindle a sedition among that vast multitude, whose
resentments were furious and implacable."^ A ferocious
civil war which lasted twelve years, and raged within the
city, tin a considerable portion had been reduced to ruins
in the reign of Valerian, had originated in a dispute between
a soldier and a townsman about a pair of shoes.

Cyril had inherited all his uncle's violent prejudice against
S. John Chrysostom. Pope Innocent had not been able to
procure the vindication of his memory at Constantinople.
But soon after his death, Atticus his successor, a good man,
but weak and timid, and a declared enemy lo Chrysostom,
who had resisted the Pope's exhortation, yielded to the
popular feeling, and to the advice of the Emperor Theo-
dosius, who thought that "for peace and unity there would
be no harm in writing a dead man's name on a diptych,"
i.e., on the table of names of the departed prayed for at the
Mass. Atticus excused himself for this compliance in a
letter to Cyril, in which he observed that, in these Eucha-
ristic commemorations, laymen as well as bishops were in-
cluded. The nephew of Theophilus was not likely to be
thus appeased ; and he extracted from the messengers of
Atticus the confession that Chrysostom was now commemo-

> "That Cyril had any share in this atrocity," says Canon Robertson, i. 401,
"appears to be an unsupported calumny."

• Decline and Fall, Ed. Bohn, i. p. 348.

* — ■*

January a8.] S. CyVll. ^2 1

rated as a Bishop. In his view, Chrysostom was simply a
man who had forfeited the episcopate ; and he called upon
Atticus to ** expunge from the sacerdotal catalogue the name
of one who was no minister," distinctly intimating that un-
less he resolved to uphold the authority of the Council of
the Oak,^ he would forfeit the communion of the patri-
archate of Alexandria.

But as time passed, Cyril thought better of this, and
regretted his violence and prejudice. Isidore of Pelusium,
a pious abbot, wrote to him, "Put an end to these
dissensions, lest you incur the judgment of God," and
urged him not to make a perpetual schism in the Church by
refusing to commemorate Chrysostom. He placed the
name of Chrysostom on his diptychs, and immediately was
received into communion with Rome from which he had
been estranged by his adherence to the prejudices of his
uncle.

Atticus, patriarch of Constantinople, was succeeded in
426, by Sisinius, who died on Christmas Eve, 427. Nestor-
ius, a Syrian bred in Antioch, of high reputation and great
powers as a speaker, ascetic and studious in his habits, was
consecrated to the see on April loth, 428. His first sermon
indicated a feverish polemical zeal, " Give me," he ex-
claimed, addressing the Emperor, " give me the earth clear
of heretics, and I will give you heaven in return ! Help
me to overthrow the heretics, and I will help you to over-
throw the Persians." He began his episcopate by attacking
an Arian meeting-house ; the Arians set fire to it in their
despair; the flames caught other buildings, and the new
patriarch received the ominous name of " the Incendiary."
The early violence of Cyril ought neither to be extenuated
nor exaggerated ; but there was somewhat less of provocation
for the persecuting zeal of Nestorius. Shortly before

1 See p. 406.

^ _

422 Lives of the Saints. [January 28.

Christmas, 428, a priest named Anastasius, whom the new
archbishop had brought from Antioch, was preaching in S.
Sophia. In the sennon he said, " Let no one call Mary the
Mother of God; for she was a human creature, of whom
God could not be bom." Nestorius was present and
approved ; and on Christmas Day he himself began a short
course of sermons, in which he called the title heathenish,
and spoke of Mary's Son as a mere man, the instrument
employed, and the vesture worn by God. Eusebius, a
lawyer in the city, stood up in full church, and proclaimed
that the Eternal Word Himself was bom after the flesh.
Nestorius denounced this doctrine ; *' It was not the Word
that was bom," said he ; *' It was only the man Jesus."

Soon after, on a festival in honour of the Virgin, probably
the Annunciation, a certain Bishop Proclus preached in the
great church before Nestorius. After speaking of S. Mary
in glowing language, as the bush buming and unconsumed,
the cloud that bore the chemb-throne, Gideon's fleece filled
with heavenly dew, he passed to the practical bearings of
the Catholic doctrine. " If the Word had not dwelt in the
womb, Flesh had never sat down on the holy throne. It
was necessary, either that the doom of death should be
executed on all, for all have sinned, or that such a price
should be paid in exchange as could fully claim the release.
Man could not save, for he was under the pressure of the
debt of sin. An angel could not redeem humanity, for he
had lacked such a ransom as was needed. One only course
remained, that the sinless God should die for sinners. It
was God who out of His compassion became Man. We do
not proclaim a man deified, but we confess a God Incarnate.
The Self-same was in the Father's bosom, and in the Virgin's
womb ; in a mother's arms, and on the wings of the wind.
He was adored by angels, while He sat at meat with publi-
cans. The servant buff"eted Him, and creation shuddered.

*- >?(

^ — .*

January 28.] 6*. Cyril. 423

He was laid in the tomb, and he spread out the heavens as
a curtain. O the mystery ! I see the miracles, and I
proclaim the Godhead ; I see the sufferings and I declare
the Manhood." Nestorius rose from his throne and
rebuked the preacher. He said that to speak of God as
virgin-born was erroneous, and in after sermons he argued
tlaat God who " held the circle of the earth " could not be
wrapt in grave-clothes ; that the Sustainer of all things could
not rise from the dead. Christ, he said, was a sinless man,
the image of the Godhead through His goodness ; and that
as a child was of the same nature as its mother, therefore
that Christ could not be divine as Mary was not divine. He
allowed to Christ a divinity, but not the divinity, placing Him
rather as chiefest of saints than as God. It was Arianism
under another form.

His sermons caused a great excitement at home as well
as abroad. Men saw that the question was no strife of
words ; laymen who felt that Catholic truth was their
inheritance, no less than that of the clergy, shrank from the
communion of a bishop who made void the Incarnation.
Clergy began to preach against him, "They are croaking
frogs," said Nestorius, and he obtained an imperial order to
to silence them. A priest began to celebrate in private, an
abbot and a monk told Nestorius to his face that he was in
error, and were savagely beaten and imprisoned for so doing.
A monk who dared to denounce him as a heretic was
scourged and exiled. Among his supporters a bishop
named Dorotheus was the chief When he preached his
heresy, the congregation uttering a cry of indignation, rushed
out of church, but Nestorius proceeded with the service, and
administered Communion to the preacher.

The careful circulation of the archbishop's sermons brought
them into the hands of the EgyjDtian monks. Cyril strove to
undo their effect by a letter addressed to the monks, about

-h<

424

Lives of the Saints.

[January iS,

the end of April, 429. They would have done better, he
said, by abstaining from the controversy ; but it was neces-
sary as things stood, to impress on them the positive truth.
Since Christ was Emmanuel, since He who was in the form
of God assumed the form of a servant, since the Son of Man
was adorable, since the Lord of glory was crucified, it was
impossible to divide the persons, and separate the manhood
from the Godhead. To sum up all in one simple formula ;
" If our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how can His Mother, the
holy Virgin, be not Mother of God ?" He guarded himself
from misrepresentation by clearly confessing that it was
from Mary that Christ derived His human nature, but that
it was not from her that He derived His divine nature. He
was God, from her He received His humanity, but to her
He was not indebted for His Godhead.

About Midsummer he wrote his first letter to Nestorius,
urging him not to produce scandal and a schism by asserting
that God dwelt in Christ instead of proclaiming the Catholic
doctrine that Christ was God. In February, 430, S. Cyril
uTote his second letter to Nestorius — the great Epistle
which received in subsequent councils a formal sanction
from the Church. He set forth his faith in the clearest
terms, insisting on a real, not a merely moral union of God
and Man in Christ. Nestorius replied, showing a strange
confusion of mind in the matter, which contrasts painfully
with the bright, crisp, and lucid style of Cyril. He was
ready to allow that Christ was an association of God with
the man, Jesus ; but he would not admit that God and man
made one Christ.

Now it was that Cyril shone as a bright star in the firma-
ment of the Church, proved a pillar in the house of God,
sustaining the truth. For this God had raised him up, to
maintain in the face of heresy, the Unity of the Person in
our Blessed Lord. What S. Athanasius had done for the

S. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA.
After the Picture by Doniiiiiquin in tlie Church of Grolto Ferrata, Rome.

Jan., p. 424.]

[Jan. 28.

Church when assailed by Arianism, Cyril was called to per-
form when she was beaten by Nestorianism. " I care not
for distress, or insult, or bitterest revilings," said he in a
letter to his clergy, " Only let the faith be kept safe."

Early in August a council met at Rome. Pope Celestine
quoted a stanza from the Christmas hymn of S. Ambrose : —

"Redeemer of Earth's tribes forlorn,
Come, show Thyself the Virgin-bom ;
Let every age the marvel greet-
No common birth for God were meet."

"Thus," he added, "Our brother Cyril's meaning, when
he calls Mary, the mother of God, entirely agrees with Talis
decet partus Deuni." He cited S. Hilary and S. Damasus as
teaching the same doctrine of One Christ ; and the council
pronounced Nestorius guilty of heresy. On August nth, he
wrote to Cyril, accepting his doctrinal statements, and
giving him an important commission. " Join the authority
of our see to your own, and freely occupying our place,
execute this sentence with strictness and rigour ; so that,
unless in ten days time from this monition, he condemns in
writing his unholy doctrine, and assures us that he holds
that faith concerning the birth of Christ our God, which is
held by the Roman Church, and by your Holiness' Church,
and by all who belong to our religion, your Holiness may
provide for his Church, and let him know that he must
needs be cut off from our body."

On the 19th of November, the emperor Theodosius, at
the request of Nestorius and his opponents, summoned a
general council to meet at Ephesus at the ensuing Pentecost.
Besides the circular letter, Cyril received a private one,
angry in tone, from the emperor, asking, "\Vhy have you
despised us, and raised all this agitation, as if a rash im-
petuosity were more befitting than accurate inquiry, or
audacity and versatility more pleasing to us than good taste

*_— ^

426

Lives of the Sai7its.

[January 28.

and simple dealing." In a council held at Alexandria, Nes-
torius was declared heretical, and was excommunicated.

On Sunday, December 7 th, four bishops entered the cathe-
dral of Constantinople, during the time of service, and pre-
sented to Nestorius the letters of Celestine and Cyril ex-
communicating him.

About four or five days before Whit-sunday, which in 431,
fell on June 7th, Cyril reached Ephesus, accompanied by
fifty bishops, and found that Nestorius had arrived with
sixteen before him. The Roman legates, Arcadius and
Projectus, bishops, with Philip, a priest, were on their way.
Pope Celestine had already expressed to Cyril his opinion,
that if Nestorius were minded to repent, he should by all
means be received, notwithstanding the sentence already
pronounced by Rome and Alexandria. The bishops of the
patriarchate of Antioch had not yet arrived. The church of
Africa devastated by the Vandals could send no prelate;
but Capreolus of Carthage wrote, entreating the bishops to
maintain the ancient doctrine.

Hostilities were, in one sense, commenced between the
parties before the opening of the council. Memnon, bishop
of Ephesus, excluded the Nestorians from the churches, so
that they had no place wherein to celebrate Pentecost, or to
say matins and vespers.

Acacius, bishop of Melitene, endeavoured to convert
Nestorius. A bishop of the Nestorian party said to him.
"The Son who suffered is one, God the Word is another."
Acacius withdrew in horror; but another saying that fell
from Nestorius' impressed itself yet more indelibly upon
every Catholic heart. On June 19th, some prelates were
arguing with him on the divinity of Jesus. " For my part,"
said he, several times over, " I cannot say that a child of
two or three months old was God." Thus he declared his
disbelief in the foundation doctrine of Christianity.

^ ^

January 28.] ^. CyvU. 427

On Sunday, June 21st, a fortnight had elapsed from the
time fixed for the meeting of the council. The Bishops
were weary of waiting ; illness and even death, had appear-
ed among them ; and John, patriarch of Antioch had not
arrived. The majority therefore sent a message to Nes-
torius, telling him that the council should begin, next day.
On Monday, June 22nd, when 198 Bishops assembled in S.
Mary's Church, he personally remonstrated against the
council being opened till the Bishops of the patriarchate of
Antioch had arrived. It was in vain ; C)Til and the
majority absolutely refused to delay. On the episcopal
throne, in the centre of the assembly, were laid the Gospels ;
the Bishops sat on each side ; Cyril, as highest in rank, and
as holding the proxy of Coelestine, until the arrival of the
Roman legates, presided in the assembly. It would have
been better if some other bishop had discharged this office;
but it appears that Cyril's part in the proceedings was
mainly that of a producer of evidence, and that he called on
the council to judge between himself and Nestorius. A
second citation was then directed to Nestorius ; but soldiers
with clubs denied the deputies access to his presence, and
he sent out word that he would attend when all the bishops
had reached the city.

A third message was then dispatched to him ; care being
taken to treat him simply as an accused bishop, not as a
condemned heretic. Again the rude sentinels thrust back
the deputies. " If you stand here all night, you will get no
satisfaction; Nestorius has ordered that no one from your
council shall enter." They returned to S. Mary's. " Nes-
torius," said the Bishop of Jerusalem, "shows a bad
conscience. Let us now proceed to compare all recent
statements with the creed of Nicsea."

When the great confession had been read, then the second
letter of Cyril to Nestorius, and extracts firom the sermons

I
^

^. ^

428 Lives of the Sai7ltS. [January 28

of the accused, the fathers proceeded to depose and excom-
municate Nestorius, in the name of "our Lord Jesus Christ
whom he has blasphemed." The sentence was signed by
all the bishops ; the first signature being, " I, Cyril, Bishop
of Alexandria, subscribed to the judgment of the council."
It was now late in the summer evening. The bishops, on
issuing from the church, were welcomed with loud applause
by the people, who had thronged the streets all day.
Torches and perfumes were burnt before them, as they pro-
ceeded to their several abodes ; and thus ended the
memorable first session of the council of Ephesus. It is
interesting to think that while the bishops were going home
that night, after a day of intense excitement, Paulinus of
Nola was calmly giving up his soul. His last words,
breathed forth in a low chant at the hour of vespers, were
those of Psalm cxxxi. 17, (cxxxii.) Paravi lucernam Christo
meo. " I have prepared a lamp for my Christ."

On Saturday, June 27th, John of Antioch arrived with
fifteen Bishops. The council sent deputies to his lodging :
he consented to see them, but permitted Count Irensus, a
friend of Nestorius, to beat them cruelly. Dusty and
travel-stained as he was, John proceeded to assemble a
conclave of the partisans of Nestorius, numbering forty-
three Bishops, and deposed Cyril of Alexandria, and
Memnon of Ephesus.

Theodosius, the emperor, prejudiced in favour of Nes-
torius, and thinking, perhaps not without reason, that the
prelates of Antioch should have been awaited before the
opening of the council, wrote on June 29th, in severe terms,
ordering that no bishop should leave Ephesus until the
doctrinal question had been fairly scrutinized, and declaring
the proceedings null.

And now the Roman legates arrived, and the second
session was held in Memnon's house, July loth. Celestine's

tj« — ^

Januar)' 28.]

6". Cyril.

429

letter to the council, dated May 8, expressed full confidence
that the council would join with the legates in executing
what Rome had already decided was good. The bishops
answered by applause, "One Coelestine, one Cyril, one
faith of the council, one faith of the world !"

Next day, in the third session, the council wrote to the
emperor that the whole Church was against Nestorius ; and
in a fourth session John, patriarch of Antioch, who supported
the heretic, was deposed and excommunicated. The
emperor then sent his high-treasurer. Count John, to com-
pose the differences in a summary manner. On his arrival
he at once arrested Cyril, Memnon, and Nestorius, and
soldiers were stationed at the doors of their bed-rooms, to
keep them close prisoners.

The bishops of the council, in a letter to the clergy of
Constantinople, described the distress which they were
enduring. " We are killed with the heat, the air is un-
healthy, there is a funeral nearly every day, the servants are
all gone home sick ; but if they make us die here, we will not
alter what Christ has through us ordained." Many of the
bishops were very ill ; some had been obliged to sell all that
they had, in order to pay their expenses. Cyril wrote also,
but there was a difficulty in getting these letters carried to
their destination. The Nestorians of Constantinople beset
the ships and the roads, and would allow no ordinary
messenger to enter the city. It was determined to give
them into the care of a beggar, who might carry them in the
hollow of a cane on which he leant This ingenious device
succeeded. The clergy of Constantinople received the
sentence of deposition pronounced on their patriarch, and the
letters of Cyril and the council. The clergy openly
addressed the emperor on behalf of Cyril. There was a
great stir among the monks, who were for the most part
determined enemies of Nestorianism. The aged abbot

tj(-

Ij, _ ^

430 Lives of the Saints. [January 28.

Dalniatius had not left his monastery for nearly fifty years„
The emperor had vainly striven to make him take a part in
the processional services during earthquakes. But now he
felt, as he expressed it, that in a cause which so truly
belonged to God he could not be inactive. He issued
forth, at the head of a solemn train of monks and abbots,
chanting in two choirs, which moved towards the palace ;
the abbots were at once admitted to the presence of
Theodosius, and he having read the letter of the council,
said, " If these things are so, let the Bishops come
hither." " They are prevented," said Dalmatius. " No
they are not," said the emperor. "They are under arrest,"
persisted the abbot. The conference ended to the satis-
faction of the abbots ; they came forth, and directed the
multitude without to proceed to a large church at the ex-
tremity of the city. Again the procession swept onwards ;
monks, bearing wax tapers, led the psalmody, without which
in those days no great religious movement was conceivable;
and the inspiring, " O praise God in Plis holiness," was
tliundered forth as they approached their destination. The
church was thronged with eager listeners ; Dalmatius caused
the letter of the council to be read, and then described the
interview with Theodosius, Dalmatius might well write to
the council, " I have not neglected your wishes." His inter-
position was a great event ; he had proved too many for the
Nestorians. By his simple devotion and impressive firm-
ness, the old recluse had given force and unity to a great
mass of public feeling, and broken the spell by which a
party had bound the emperor.

It is unnecessary to follow the tangled threads of party
strife much further. Theodosius confirmed the decree of
the council, and on Sunday, Oct. 25th, 431, a nev/ patriarch
was consecrated to fill the room of Nestorius. John of An-
tioch had been led astray by party feeling, and in faith

* — ■ -►j<

he had not been really heretical ; his mind like that of
other supporters of Nestorius was bewildered, and fearing
lest Cyril should fall in the opposite error, that of Apollin-
aris, which lost one nature in the other, making of Christ
but one nature, he had adopted the side of Nestorius. Now
he was reconciled to Cyril, who gladly met him halfway, and
by mutual explanation blew away the dust of strife, and
found that their faith was identical. John sent Paul, Bishop
of Emesa, to Alexandria \vith this confession, " We confess
our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, to be
perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and a
body ; before the ages begotten of the Father according to
His Godhead, but for us and for our salvation, in the latter
days, bom of the Virgin Mary according to His Manhood ;
of one essence with the Father as to Godhead, of one essence
with us as to Manhood. For there took place an union of
two natures ; wherefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one
Lord. According to this notion of the union without confu-
sion, we confess Holy Mary to be Mother of God, because
God the Word was incarnate and made man, and from His
very conception united to Himself the temple taken from her."
This formulary Cyril gladly accepted as orthodox, and
then, and not till then, Paul of Emesa was permitted to
attend the church service, and invited to preach, as a
Catholic Bishop, on Christmas Day. The scene that ensued
was a very striking one. He began with the angelic hymn,
proceeded to Isaiah vii. 14, and then pronounced the
momentous words, "Thus Mary, Mother of God, brings
forth Emmanuel !" The church rang with joyful cries ;
" Lo, this is the faith ! 'Tis God's gift, orthodox Cyi'il !
This is what we wanted to hear !" Paul resumed, and
presently enforced both sides of the great verity. "A
combination of two perfect natures, I mean Godhead and
Manhood, constitutes for us the one Son, the one Christ, the

^ >J«

432 Lives of the Saints. [January 28.

one Lord." Again the people shouted applause ; " Welcome,
orthodox Bishop, the worthy to the worthy !"

S. Cyril died in June, 444, after a pontificate of thirty-two
years, during the last fifteen of which he may be said to have
as truly lived for the truth of the unity of the two natures in
Christ, as his mightiest predecessor, S. Athanasius, had
lived for the truth of the Divinity of Christ. Doubtiess, the
fiery spirit, which Cyril could not always restrain, impelled
him, during this great controversy, into some steps which
show that he was not an Athanasius. But modern critics of
his character have said more than enough on this point, and
too little on points of a different kind. Historical justice
can never demand that we should take the hardest possible
view of his conduct at the opening of the council of Ephesus,
and ignore the noble unselfishness, the patience in explain-
ing over and over again his own statements, the readiness in
welcoming substantial agreement on the part of others, in a
word, the "power, and love, and command" which made
him a true minister of peace in the reunion of 433. We
need not dwell on other instances in which he showed a
remarkable forbearance, as when he bore without irritation the
schooling of S. Isidore ; on his care for the due probation of
aspirants to the priesthood, his depth and acuteness as a
dogmatic theologian, his faith and thankfulness when treated
as a deposed prisoner. The way not to understand him is
to substitute a haughty and heartless dogmatist for the
ardent, anxious, often the deeply suffering man, who, against
an opponent strong in sophistry, in court influence, and in
church power, persevered in defending the simple truth of
the Scriptural and Nicene mystery, that "the one Lord
Jesus Christ was very God of very God, who for us men and
for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate,
and was made Man."^

' Chiefly from Bright's Church History.

I M-

S. CYRIL OF AIJ<:X.\NDKIA. Afler Cahier.

Jan., p. 432.]

[Jan. 28.

^ »J,

Januar>:8.] ^. y ameS. 433

S. JAMES, THE PENITENT, H.
(6th cent.)

[Roman Martyrology and Greek Menaea, but by the Gallo-Belgic
Martyrology on Jan. 29th. Authority : a Hfe written apparently not long
after the death of S. James. There are so many saints, and even hermit
saints of this name, that some confusion would have arisen but for the
remarkable peculiarity of the life of this man.]

The Story of this hermit is a painful and very sad one ;
it is that of a great fall and bitter repentance. As a warning
to all those who are living lives near to God, to be not high-
minded but fear, the Church has placed it in her sacred
Kalendar, but not only as a lesson to such, but also as an
encouragement to the poor wretch who has fallen, to look up,
not to despair, for great as may be his sin, greater is the
mercy of God.

Near the city of Porphyrio in Samaria lived a hermit in a
cave. He was not old, but in the bloom of manhood.
Some wicked men, desirous of disgracing the anchorite,
suborned a harlot to bewitch him. She therefore went
to his cave one evening, and knocked at the door. He
opened the door, and, seeing a woman, slammed it in her
face. But she continued knocking and imploring to be
admitted. Night fell, and the howl of the wolf and the
snarl of the hyaena sounded dolefully ^vithout; then the
hermit, fearing lest the woman should become prey to wild
beasts, opened the door, and asked her who she was. She
replied that she was a religious woman on her road from one
convent to another, who sought shelter for the night. Then
he admitted her to the outer chamber of his cave, where
burnt his fire, and there he bade her rest, whilst he retired
into the inner chamber, and closed the door. But, during
the night, he heard her moaning and sobbing, then he
looked through the little window in the door, and saw her
rolling on the ground, as if in great pain. He asked what

VOL. I. 28

434

Lives of the Saints.

[January 28,

ailed her, and she answered that she had cramp of the
heart, and implored him to relieve her, by signing her bosom
and heart with holy oil. Then she tore open her garment,
and exposed her breast ; and he, entering, took oil and
anointed her bosom; but fearing temptation, he prayed to
God with great devotion, and at the same time placed his
left hand in the fire, whilst with his right he continued doing
as she demanded, till suddenly, she was aware that his left
hand was so burned that the fingers were completely charred
through. Then, horror-struck, and filled with compunction,
she threw herself at his feet, and sobbing confessed her
evil design. So he bade her go and sin no more, and
the woman was converted from her evil life, and she
went and lived the rest of her days in the exercise of
penitence.

Now, after this, James was of good confidence that he had
completely mastered the lust of the flesh, and he was less
on his guard against the wiles of Satan than before. And
people saw his maimed hand, and they praised his great
continence, so his heart was lifted up within him, and he was
filled with spiritual pride. After many years, when he was
over sixty, there came to his cell a father bringing his
daughter, a very beautiful girl, who was possessed with an evil
spirit, and he besought the pious hermit to cast forth the
demon. And when he had prayed, the evil spirit went out
of her, but left her almost inanimate. Then the father,
thinking her too much exhausted to be at once removed, or
fearing another access of her disorder, left her in the cell of
the God-fearing recluse. And when she was there some
days, and he saw her beauty, he was overcome with a
violent passion of love, and he lost all control over himself,
and forgat God, and deceived the unfortunate girl, and in
madness he savagely murdered her, and threw the body into
a river.

* ■ — ^

January j8.] ^. y aiUeS. 435

And now, as the sun set on that day of passion and crime,
and the dark night settled down on the wilderness, the
horror of remorse came upon him, and he \vrithed in his cave
in an agony of shame and despair, lying with his face on the
ground. Then, at last, haggard and hopeless, he rushed
forth, resolving to confess his crime and then to return into
the world, as one unworthy to aspire to a close walk with
God. And when he had come to the nearest monastery, he
called the monks together, and casting himself at their feet,
sobbed forth his story of shame. The good brothers raised
him, and mingled their tears with his, and prayed God to
have mercy on the poor sinner, and to pluck him as a brand
from the burning. After that, finding no rest, he went forth,
and lighted, as evening fell, on an old hermit sitting in his
cave, who offered him a lodging, and spread for him such
food as he had to offer. But James would eat nothing.
Then the hermit said, "Dear Christian brother, give me
some good advice, how I may escape evil thoughts." And
when James heard that, he uttered a piercing cry, staggered
to his feet and fell on the ground, burying his face in his
hands. He told all his sin to the hermit, and said that now
he was about to return into the world, being unworthy to
wear the habit of a monk, and live a life demanding such
holiness. "When I was young, then I controlled my
passions, now that I am old, my passions have conquered
me. I cannot raise my eyes," he said ; " I despair of
salvation. I cannot name the Saving Name ; fire will fall
from heaven to consume me, I am lost 1"

Then the good old hermit cast his arms round his neck
and kissed him, and said, " Brother, despair not of God's
forbearance, but believe that there is a place for repentance.
A broken and a contrite heart God will not despise. Great
is God's mercy, ever following us, therefore despair not,
brother 1"

1^-

436

Lives of the Saints.

[January 28.

He ceased not from speaking, till the black cloud of des-
pair was rolled away, and the fallen monk had the courage
to hope. Then he led him on his way for many miles,
earnestly dissuading him from going into the world ; and so
they parted, with many tears.

So James sought out a doleful cave which had been used
as an old sepulchre, and he hid himself there, and spent in
it ten years, bewailing his crime, only opening the door
twice in the week, to collect a few olives on which to sus-
tain life, and esteeming himself viler than the dust. And
when ten years were accomplished, he felt that God was
about to call him, therefore he went to the nearest city, and
to the Bishop there, and besought him, when he was dead,
to bury him in the old sepulchre in which he had undergone
his penance, and in the soil he had moistened with his
many tears. After that he returned to his cave, and there
died, at the age of seventy-five.

S. PAULINUS, PATR. OF AQUILEIA.

(A..D. 804.)

[S. Paiilinus died on Jan. nth, but his festival is observed on Jan. 28th.
Authorities : various histories of his time, and the writings of himself and
Alcuin.]

S. Paulinus, born about 726, was one of the most illus-
trious of the patriarchs who sat in the throne of Aquileia,
which he ascended, about the year 776. He assisted at the
council of Aix-la-Chapelle in 782, of Ratisbon in 792, and
of Frankfort in 794; and he held one himself, at Friuli, in
791 or 796. He combated a form of Nestorianism propa-
gated by Felix, Bishop of Urgel, and Elipandus, Bishop ot
Toledo, with such success that their heresy made no head-
way in the West. In 802, S. Paulinus assembled a council
at Altino. He died on the nth Jan., 804.

CHARLEMAGNE AND S. LOUIS.
After a Picture in tlie Palais de Justice, Paris, \vron-l\- attrihuled to Van Eyck.

Jan., p. 436.]

[Jan. 28.

January 28.] B. CkarlemcLgne. 437

B. CHARLEMAGNE, EMP.
(a.d. 814.)

[Inserted in many French, German, and Belgian Martjrologies. He was
canonized by the Anti-pope Paschal III. The life of this emperor, written
by his secretary Eginhart, together with the numerous historical accounts
of his transactions, supply abundant material for his life.]

The public life of the Emperor Charlemagne belongs to
the domain of secular history, rather than to hagiology. We
shall confine ourselves, in this notice, to those acts which
have obtained for him a place in the Kalendar of the
Church.

Charlemagne, son of King Pepin, was bom in 742, and
was crowned king of France in 768. In the early years of
his reign he was guilty of grave moral faults, which he deeply
deplored in his after life. He comes before us as a man
penetrated with a strong sense of religious responsibility, and
of faith in the divine mission of the Church. In the midst
of his wars, the spread of the true faith, and the advance-
ment of learning, were never absent from his mind. He was
zealous in reforming the monasteries, and for the sake of uni-
formity, he introduced into them the rule of S. Benedict.
For the discipline of the clergy, he procured the convention
of many synods, in which were drawn up his famous Capitulars.
He meditated assiduously on the Scriptures, assisted at the
divine office, even that of midnight, if possible; had good
books read to him at table, and took but one meal a day.
He died at the age of seventy-two, at Aix-le-Chapelle, in 814,
and was there buried. His tomb was opened in 1165. The
body was found, not reclining in his coffin, as is the usual
fashion of the dead, but seated on his throne as one alive,
clothed in the imperial robes, bearing the sceptre in his hand,
and on his knees a copy of the Gospels. On his fleshless brow
was the crown, the imperial mantle covered his shoulders,

-.Jf

438

Lives of tllC Saints. [Jauuary28.

the sword Joyeuse was by his side, and the pilgrim's pouch,
which he had borne always while living, was still fastened to
to his girdle. His skull and tlirone and hunting horn are
preserved in the sacristy at Aix.

of xtie liiL Ceuiui-y m Uie Burgundy Library ai Bi-usbclb.

January 29,] SS. Valevius, SabhiiaH & Sabina. 439

January 29,

S. Valerius, B. of Treves, endo/isi. cent.

S. CoNSTANTlus, B.M. at Perugia, between a.d. i6i — 8.

SS. Sabinian, M., and Sabina, K., at Troyes, in France, circ. a.d. 275.

SS. Papias and M.\urus, MM., at Rome, circ. a.d. 303.

S. Gildas the Wise, Ab. in Brittany, 6th cetit.

S. SuLPicius Severus, B. of Bourges, a.d. 591.

S. Baculus, B. of Sorrento, circ. a.d. 679.

S. Peter Thomasius, Latin Patr. of Constantinople, a.d. 1366.

S. Francis of Sales, B. of Geneva, a.d. 1622.

S. VALERIUS, B. OF TREVES.

(end of 1ST CENT.)

[There are many Saints of this name. This S. Valerius appears in
very many of the most ancient Martyrologies. His Acts, together with
those of SS. Eucher and Maternus, his companions, was written by a
certain Goldscher, of uncertain date, but ancient ; for it is quoted by
Heriger, Ab. Lobie, who died 1007. Goldscher says that he collected
the accounts he found of Valerius and his companions from various
ancient chronicles.]

UCHER, Valerius, and Maternus, according to

legend wholly unreliable, were three disciples of

S. Peter, and were sent by him to preach the

Gospel in Gaul. The first was consecrated by

him bishop, the second, deacon, and Maternus, sub-deacon.

S. Eucher fixed his see at Treves, then an important city.

After his death Valerius was elevated to the episcopate, and

preached the word of God with so much zeal, that many

were added to the Church. On his death, he was succeeded

by S. Maternus.

SS. SABINIAN, M., AND SABINA, V.

(about a.d. 275.)

[Commemorated in some churches on /an. 25th, in others on Jan. 29th,

June 8th, Aug. 29th, Sept. 5th ; sometimes together, and sometimes

severally. Authorities : two ancient lives of S. Sabinian, and one of S.

Sabina, published by Bollandus.]

SS. Sabinian and Sabina were brother and sister, natives
of Samos. Sabinian's soul having been touched by Christian

^ fS^

440

Lives of the Saints.

[January 29.

teaching, he left his native island, and coming to Gaul reached
Troyes, where he fell in with Christians, and he was there
baptized in the river Seine. It is said that his staff, which
he had driven into the bank, as he went down into the water,
on his return put forth leaves and flowered.

In the reign of Aurelian he was brought before the em-
peror, then at Vienne in Gaul, and was cruelly tormented,
by being seated on a heated bench of iron, and a red-hot
helmet was placed on his head. He was afterwards exe-
cuted with the sword. His sister Sabina, who had followed
him, arrived at Troyes after his martyrdom. She was there
baptized, spent a holy life, and died a virgin.

S. GILDAS THE WISE, AB., IN BRITTANY.

(a.d. 570.)

[There were several British saints of this name, but all were insig-
nificant, with the exception of the famous author, whose writings are
extant. His life was written by Caradoc of Llancarvan, about 1150;
another and independent life is by an anonymous monk of Rhuys, some-
what earlier. Both may be found edited by the Rev. Hugh Williams in
the " Gildas" published by the Cymmrodorion Society.]

S. Gildas, surnamed the Wise, was born in North-Britain
near the Clyde, in the kingdom of which Dumbarton was
the capital. His father was of princely birth ; the eldest
son, Howel, was a great warrior, who, succeeding his father
in the principality, was slain by King Arthur. Mailoc,
another son, was brought up to the religious life. Two
other brothers, and their sister, Peteona, in like manner left
the world, and choosing a retired place in the furthest ex-
tremity of that country, built themselves separate oratories,
where, by watching, fasting, and fervent prayer, they con-
tinually strove to reach their heavenly country. As to

^ . ^

January 29.] S. GUdas the Wisc. 441

Gildas, we learn from his own writings that he was born in
the year of the famous victory gained over the Saxons by
Aurelius Ambrosius at Mount Badon, but the date as well
as the site of this battle have been hotly disputed. He was,
when a child, committed by his parents to the care of S.
Iltut, who brought him up in his monastery of Llan-Iltut in
Glamorganshire, instructing him in the divine Scriptures, and
in the liberal arts. These divine meditations wonderfully
increased his faith and love of heavenly things, and influ-
enced in such a manner the whole conduct of his life, that
from his very youth he attained to great perfection and was
favoured with the gift of miracles. From S. Iltut's school,
where he had for companions S. Samson and S. Paul of
Leon, both of whom were afterwards illustrious prelates,
he went over into Ireland, for his further improvement in
virtue and learning, among the disciples of S. Patrick. He
had several children, the most famous of whom was S. Aidan,
Bishop of Ferns. Another was Cennydd, or Keneth, who
also left issue. The name of his wife is unrecorded. After
Gildas was ordained priest he went for a short time to the
northern parts of Britain, but he was not there long enough
to leave a lasting impress, and he returned to South Wales
in 529, and founded a monastery at Rhuys on a peninsula
that shuts off the inland sea of Morbihan from the Atlantic.
This was on his way home after a visit to Rome. In 527
he was again in South Wales, and took charge of the
monastery of Llancarfan from 528 to 529. Then he went
to Glastonbury, but returned to Rhuys in 544. Thence
he wrote his scurrilous book, " De Exidis Britannise," in
which he so savagely attacked the native princes, that he
made Wales too hot for his sons and brothers, and they
were constrained to fly. In 547 broke out the yellow
plague in Britain, and S. Cadoc came to Brittany from
Wales, and Gildas recommended him a site somewhat

* a

442

Lives of the Saints. [January 29.

similar to that of Rhuys on which to settle. In Brittany
he got at enmity with the Prince Conmore, who was, in
fact, an usurper, and he got mixed up in a quarrel between
the prince and his wife, whom Gildas befriended against
her husband's violence. Gildas had a cell under a rock
on the Blavet, to which he often retired, and which is still
shown. ^ In 565 he was invited to Ireland by Ainmeric,
the king, to regulate Church matters, as Christianity had
lapsed into partial paganism after the death of S. Patrick.
He went, and returned to Rhuys in 567, and died there
in 570 at the age of about ninety-four. His body was
placed in a boat and committed to the waves, but eventu-
ally it was recovered. In art he is represented with a
snarling dog at his side.

S. SULPICIUS SEVERUS, B. OF BOURGES.

(a.d. 591.)

[There is great confusion caused by tliere having been so many archbishops
of this name. There was a Sulpicius the Pious, Archbishop of Bourges
about 644; commemorated on Jan. 17th. There was also Sulpicius Severus,
the disciple of S. Martin, whose life Butler gives on this day, and
who is the famous historian, but there seems to be no authority for num-
bering him with the Saints. Butler also says that there were four Sulpicii,
Archbishops of Bourges, but this seems to be a mistake, for BoUandus
gives only two, Sulpicius the Pious and Sulpicius Severus.]

Little of the acts of this Saint is known, and he is here
mentioned solely to enable the reader to distinguish the
Saint of this name from the historian, and also from his
successor Sulpicius the Pious.

' He is said to have glazed the east window of his oratory with a pane of an
hitherto unheard of size.

Ij, — ■ — ^

January 29.1 S. Fraiicis of SttlCS. 443

S. FRANCIS OF SALES, B.C. OF GENEVA.
(a.d. 1622.)

[Roman Martyrology. Beatified, A.D. 1661, canonized A.D. 1665. Jan.
29th is the day of the translation of his body to Annecy ; he died on Holy
Innocents' Day. Authorities : A life by his nephew, Charles Auguste de
Sales, who succeeded his uncle as Bishop of Geneva, 1634. Before that,
P. Lucis de la Riviere had written a Ufe, 1624. There are several others
of less value, by Dom Dian de S. Fran9ois, P. Philibert de Bonneville, De
Marpas, Bishop of Le Puy. J. P. Camus, intimate with Francis, gave
valuable notes in his " I'Esprit de S. Fran9ois de Sales," Paris, 1641.
More valuable still is " S. Franfois de Sales, peint par les Dames de la
Visitation," and " Ann^e de la Visitation," containing a diary of all the
founder did and much that he said, when visiting the Order. A life by
Marsollier has been most frequently reprinted and translated, but is of no
value ; it consists largely of matter drawn out of the author's own imagina-
tion. The best modern life is by Hamose. A life by Ormsby, and " The
Mission of S. Francis of Sales in the Chablais," by Lady Herbert, are
purely eulogistic, everything that did not conduce to a high pictorial
effect of a saint bathed in light is suppressed or perverted. A little
clearer light was let in on his story by M. Nevins in " The Persecutions
of the Protestants by S. Francis de Sales," 1880, and by L. W. Bacon in
"Two Sides of a Saint" in " Macmillan's Magazine" for 1878. This
latter was answered and a refutation attempted by the Rev. H. B. Mackey
in " Four Essays on the Life and Writings of S. Francis de Sales," 1883.
No just historic appreciation of the work of S. Francis in the Chablais can
be passed without reference to Gaberel, "Hist, de I'Eglise de Geneve,"
1855-62. Gaberel may be prejudiced, as a Calvinist, against Francis, but
he is strictly honest as a historian, and gives his authorities for every
statement. He is vastly more trustworthy than the high-flown panegyrists
of the Saint.]

S. Francis of Sales was the eldest son of one of the
principal nobles of Savoy, — John, Lord of Sales, of Boisy,
of Balleyson, and of Ville-Roget, usually styled by the second
of these titles. His mother, Frances, daughter of the Lord
of La Thuille and of Vallieres, came of no less noble stock.
He had many brothers and sisters, of whom Louis, Lord of
La Thuille, was the father of Charles Augustus, the pious
biographer of the Saint. Francis was born Aug. 21st, 1567.

' -^

444 Lives of the Saints. [January 29.

He was sent in early childhood to the college of Annecy,
where he was trained in all the accomplishments which in
those days were considered essential to the rank of a young
noble. He was five years at the college of Annecy. At
the age of eleven, he entreated permission of his father
to take the tonsure, having at that early age decided to
adopt the ecclesiastical life. M. de Boisy by no means
desired this, for his ambition was, that his eldest son should
succeed him as the head of the family, and distinguish him-
self in political life; but, with that sort of management
which men of great experience often prefer to violent
measures, he permitted him to do as he pleased. The old
lord knew that the tonsure did not bind his son finally to
become an ecclesiastic ; and he depended on the changes
to which a young man's mind is subject, to dissipate this
predilection.

In 1578 he was sent to pursue his studies in the Univer-
sity of Paris, and was given a worthy priest as tutor to see
that he did not get into scrapes, nor form undesirable
acquaintanceships. He studied rhetoric, philosophy, and
religion under the Jesuits, and it was due to their early
teaching that some of the worst acts of his life were com-
mitted. He was about the age of seventeen, when the idea
took possession of his mind, that he was not in a state of
grace, and that the face of God was turned away from him.
In his agony of mental distress he prayed, "Lord if I may
not see Thee hereafter, yet, oh grant, that I may never
blaspheme Thee ! " He seems, if it were possible, to have
suffered the very anguish of hell, without the loss of the
love of God. During the six weeks this shadow lay upon
him, he could hardly eat or sleep, he wasted to a skeleton,
and his friends became greatly alarmed for his health. At
length, this great cross disappeared as suddenly as it came.
He one day entered the church of S. Etienne des Gres and

* __i

>^.t-

Januaryzg.] ^. FvaUCis of Suks, 445

knelt down before an image of the Blessed Virgin. His
eye was caught by a tablet on the wall, on which was
inscribed the famous prayer of S. Bernard, called the
Memorare. He repeated it with great emotion ; and im-
plored that, through the intercession of Mary, it might
please God to restore his peace of mind. He also made a
vow of perpetual chastity. The dark thoughts which had
brooded over his soul for many weeks now sped away, and
the sun of God's favour shone on it and warmed it once
more. He came out of the church in that sweet and pro-
found calmness of mind which he never afterwards lost.
Considering what he was to become in after life, the guide
and comforter of such a multitude of souls, it was necessary,
in order to give him his tender overflowing sympathy, that
he should have sounded the most unusual depths of human
agony.

After having spent five years at Paris, when not yet aged
seventeen, he was sent to Padua, where he took his degree
as Doctor of Laws. His education being now considered
complete, he returned home, where his father held out to
him the prospect of becoming an avocat to the senate at
Chambery. Moreover, he announced to him that he had
found a charming girl, an heiress, aged eighteen, Mile, de
Vezy, to whom he desired to have him united. Francis
said not a word about his vow, made a pretence of falling
in with his father's plans, and rode over to the Chateau de
Vezy and had an interview. She was a good-looking girl,
and Francis was particularly attentive and civil. He rode
over several times after that and prosecuted his attentions.
Marsollier, who wrote the life of S. Francis in 1700, seventy-
eight years after the death of this hero, asserts that Francis
gave no encouragement to the young lady. But this was
certainly not the case. His conduct towards the young
lady was insincere and cruel.

^ _ lil

446 Lives of the Saints. [January 29.

Meanwhile, doubtless with him privy to it, though it is
pretended — it is mere pretence — that he knew nothing
about it, private negotiations were being carried on with
the Pope through a cousin, Louis, Canon of Geneva,
to obtain for Francis the Deanery that was then vacant,
the most brilliant and well-paid ecclesiastical sinecure in
the diocese. And a sinecure it was, for Geneva and its
Cathedral were in the hands of the Calvinists, whereas
the revenues were derived from lands outside the jurisdic-
tion of the town. Consequently Francis as dean would
pocket a large revenue, and have no duties to discharge
therefore. Not till the Papal bull was in his hand did
Francis break to his parents the tidings that he had, as a
boy, vowed celibacy, and that he purposed taking Holy
Orders. The disappointment of his parents was great.
He had deceived and tricked them. He was now twenty-
six, and yet had all the timorousness of a green girl, and
had shrunk from a scene with his father till the last
moment, and till he had procured the splendid appoint-
ment in the Church which he hoped would disarm his
father's opposition. And as to the vow he pleaded, his
parents represented to him that as it was taken when he
was a silly boy in his teens, a single word of the Bishop
of Geneva would release him from its obligation — it did
not even need to be referred to the Pope. M. de Boisy
was highly incensed. He had lavished money on his son's
education in law, and to take his own place in the ancestral
chateau some day, and continue the family. But Francis
was obdurate, and M. de Boisy had to submit.

On December i8th, 1593, Francis was ordained priest.
At this time the Bishop of Geneva received an appeal from
the Duke of Savoy to send missionaries into the Chablais.
This was a portion of the Duchy to the south of the Lake
of Geneva, which had been forcibly seized on by the canton

* *

January 29.) S. Fvaucis of Sctlcs. 447

of Berne, and Catholicism had been ruthlessly suppressed
therein, the priests, expelled, the churches gutted, and
preachers installed in the cure of souls throughout the
district. Thonon was the capital. Fifty-seven years had
elapsed, and by means of iron repression the people had
grown up in heresy or indifference, and a good many had
lapsed into blank unbelief.

Now the Chablais had been recovered in 1564 by the
treaty of Nyon, with the stipulation made by the Bernese
that the Reformed religion therein should not only be left
unmolested, but should be taken under the protection of the
Prince. But on the death of his father, Charles Emmanuel
became Duke, and he did all that lay in his power to re-
cover revolted Geneva, that likewise had pertained to the
Duchy. In 1589 war broke out between the Genevese and
the Duke, in the course of which Thonon was attacked
and forced to surrender to the Genevese and their allies.
Peace was, however, made in 1594, when the treaty of
Nyon was reaffirmed. Charles Emmanuel, regardless of
his oath, from which he knew that he could be dispensed
by the Pope, was now resolved on the reconversion of the
province, and for this purpose appealed to the Bishop of
Geneva. Francis at once undertook the task, from which
others shrank. " My Lord, if you think me capable and
worthy of this mission, I undertake it with joy. At thy
word will I let down my net ! " The Bishop gratefully
accepted the generous offer, and prepared to do all for
Francis that lay in his power to ensure his success.

Far different, however, was the scene in the castle of
Sales, when the fatal news became known. M. de Boisy
flew to Annecy, and overwhelmed Francis with entreaties
and reproaches. " Wist ye not that I must be about my
Father's business," was the reply of the Saint ; then throw-
ing himself at his father's feet, he besought his consent and

^ —^

448

Lives of the Saints.

[January 29.

his blessing. M. de Boisy replied, "As to consenting to
this mad undertaking, I cannot do it. It is of no use ask-

ing me ;

and so saying, the poor old man left the palace,
and returned in tears to his castle, there to be soothed, but
not consoled, by the stronger faith of his wife.

On Sept. 9th, 1594, P'rancis, accompanied by his cousin,
Louis, started on his evangelical mission. It was necessary
to pass by the castle of Sales, when Francis had a fresh battle
to fight with his family. "The Chateau of Sales," writes a
contemporary of our Saint, " was at that time one of the
most beautiful in Savoy, situated at the foot of mount Ferreo,
and surrounded with lovely gardens and shrubberies. A
fountain in the centre, and a lake on one side, added to its
charms." Yet all this Francis seems to have left without a
thought or even a regret. During their visit, the cousins
determined to spend a couple of days in retreat. The even-
ing of the second day, Francis went to take leave of his
mother. Her conduct throughout had been admirable.
This terrible parting over, Francis went back to the chapel
where, as a child, he had so often knelt with that tender
mother before the altar and repeated, evening after evening,
his childish prayers, and there the noble sacrifice of his
whole future life to God was consummated and accepted.
His natural sorrow quenched in the Sacred Presence,
Francis spent the rest of the night in prayer, for the success
of his mission ; and the next morning the cousins started at
break of day, avoiding all further leave-takings ; and with-
out either servants or provisions ; his father having expressly
forbidden any assistance being given to them, hoping there-
by to disgust them of their enterprise. So, in poverty, S.
Francis left his ancestral home. Nine years afterwards,
writing to the Pope, he says: " On arriving in the Chablais,
nothing but heart-breaking sights met our eyes. Out of
sixty-five parishes, excepting a few officers of the Duke's

►f

^\ ^^'

^^l*'iiwilS

S. FRANCIS OF SALES.

Jan., p. 448.]

pan. 29.

.J< — >J,

January 29.] S. Fraticis of Salcs. 449

garrisons, there were scarcely fifty Catholics. The churches
were desecrated or destroyed, and the cross everywhere
broken down."

It would be impossible to give an idea of the fury of the
Protestants of Thonon when they heard of the mission of
the two cousins. The news flew to Geneva, where a public
meeting was instantly held to declare that any one was at
liberty to take the lives of the two Papists who had dared
to undertake the mission ; some of the Protestants present,
so it was reported, swore that they themselves would be their
assassins. M. de Boisy was alarmed when news reached
him that the life of his son was menaced, and he sent his
old and faithful servant, George Roland, with positive
orders to bring Francis back ; but the Saint was not to be
moved ; he, however, persuaded his cousin, Louis, to go
back for a short while, in order to calm the anxiety of his
family, whilst he himself remained to prosecute his great
work. Louis obeyed, but soon returned, and the two earnest
missioners laboured indefatigably together to advance the
Gospel. Francis went on foot among the villages, his stick,
his breviary, and his Bible being his sole companions,
Louis being sent into other parts of the province.

That Calvinist zealots had bound themselves by an oath
to slay Francis is a mere fiction. The transactions of the
Conference of Pastors, at which this plot was hatched, as
is pretended, are extant, and not a trace of such a decision
is to be found in them.

Actually, Francis ran no risks whatever. He and his

cousin were very comfortably lodged in the castle of

AUinges, three short miles from Thonon, with his relative,

the Baron d'Hermance, who was Governor, and had a

strong garrison under him. But in the eulogistic lives of

the Saint these three short miles are expanded into

a wild and long journey, costing vast fatigue, in which
VOL. I. • 29

►j4 .

450

Lives of the Saints.

[January 2g.

the pangs of hunger and thirst had to be constantly
endured.

The President Favre wrote to Francis: " My only trouble
is that your good father worries from fear of harm coming
to you, and I can hardly persuade him that you are per-
fectly safe, and that there is not the slightest occasion to
suspect danger for you. I comfort him all I can, often
protesting that I never would have left you if I had per-
ceived that the smallest danger was to be feared." Various
attempts at assassination are related in the biographies and
in the " Bull of Canonization." They are mere fictions.
The Saint never once refers to any such in his letters.
M. de Boisy sent George Roland to Francis at the be-
ginning of the year 1595, and to the records of this faith-
ful servant, who from that hour never left him, we are
mainly indebted for the details of the most interesting
personal adventures which befell the Saint; he also knew
nothing of the terrible dangers that beset Francis. But
a convert, after many years, did assert on oath that he had
vowed to murder Francis and carry his head to Geneva,
and that he had thrice waylaid the Saint to accomplish his
purpose, and that each time his gun had missed fire, or
else Francis had become invisible. That the whole con-
fession was a lie can admit of small doubt.

The morning after his arrival at AUinges, Francis started
for Thonon ; as he did so, the governor, pointing to his
artillery, remarked significantly to him : " If the Hugue-
nots over there will give you a hearing, I hope we shall
have no need to use these guns." Advancing from his
fortified base, Francis presented himself to the magistrates
of Thonon with letters from the Duke, commanding them
to render all possible services to the missionaries, to attend
upon their preaching, and warning them that any injury
offered to the priests would be avenged on the whole city

-i<

^ ^

January 29.] S. Fvaucis of Saks. 45 1

of Thonon. He was granted the church of S. Hippolyte,
in which he might occupy the pulpit — but not say mass.
Here day by day he preached, but only a handful of
listeners came. The people had been so glutted with
sermons by their pastors, that they had lost all zest for
them, even when controversial. Francis bewailed his dis-
appointment in his letters. " We had hoped that some
would come to hear us either out of curiosity or out of
some lingering love for the old religion. But they have
all resolved, with mutual exhortations, not to do so." Later
on he wrote : " I have been preaching at Thonon now seven
months on every holiday and often in the week besides. I
have never been heard by more than three or four of the
Huguenots, and these came only four or five times."

But it is possible enough that he expected a great deal
more than he achieved, and was disposed to under-rate his
success — not so much out of humility, as in order to force
the hand of the Duke to use compulsion and bribery.

Protestantism in its most chill form had been forced on
the people, who had not desired it. Those who were over
sixty years old must have hailed with joy the prospect of
a return to the faith of their fathers and of their childhood.
Without any previous preparation, every religious idea in
which they had been reared was reversed. The old Catho-
lic religion was one of worship. Now worship was practi-
cally abolished, and preaching set up in its place. The
altars were destroyed, men were required to wear their
hats in church, and to sit when the pastor was putting up
prayer. Rude and simple minds could not understand the
complete transformation of religion, and they detested the
change. There was, however, no help for it ; they must
submit, attend the preachings, or have their goods con-
fiscated and be banished the land. At the time of the
wrecking of the churches and the furious polemic against

ij, — ^

452

Lives of the Saints.

[January 29.

everything the people had been taught to believe and hold
sacred, there must have been many households where the
parents groaned under the gray and deadening relision of
negations with which they were oppressed, and who must
have brought up their children to hate the established
Calvinism and to pray for the return to a better time.

But the bulk of those who had grown up under the
Calvinist regime were well indoctrinated in anti-Catholic
controversy, and steeped in prejudice, till it had penetrated
to heart and soul. There would be a third class, and that
by far the largest, of those who had no love for Calvin-
ism— indeed there was nothing that anyone could love in
it — but had no convictions in the direction of Catholicism,
and who would be guided by their material interests, but
who, to save their faces, pretended to be turned by the
arguments of the Apostle Francis. Consequently we have
two classes that would welcome or conform to a change,
and one only comprising such as were sincere zealots, hating
most articles of the Catholic faith, and utterly detesting
every symbol and ceremony of the Catholic religion.

In the beginning of the year 1595, Francis began to
issue a short, clear, and simple exposition of the doctrine
of the Church, written on broadsides for distribution.
These were widely disseminated and as widely read. He
and his cousin Louis travelled over the country in all
weathers, and at all seasons, exhorting, explaining, per-
suading. One night, 15th December, being on an expedi-
tion of this kind, night came on suddenly ; the earth was
covered with snow, and he found himself alone in a large
wood infested with wolves. Afraid of being devoured, he
climbed up into a tree to pass the night ; and then, lest he
should fall asleep and drop from the branch, he tied himself
with his leathern girdle to the stem. The next morning
some peasants from a neighbouring village found him there,

■*

January 29.] S. Fraitcis of Salcs. 453

nearly frozen with cold, and unable to move. They carried
him to their home, gently chafed his numbed limbs, and
brought him back to warmth and consciousness. Their
charity was not without its reward, for the Saint profited by
the occasion to speak to them on things concerning their
eternal salvation. His gentle, loving voice and manner
effected even more than his words, and the zeal he had
shown in braving every kind of peril and suffering for the
sake of bringing back a few stray sheep to the fold, spoke
more forcibly to their hearts than a thousand sermons.
These poor peasants were moved and touched, and S.
Francis numbered them among his first converts.

The winter, always severe in Savoy, was this year one of
unusual rigour. The roads were one sheet of ice, and
Francis was obliged to put iron clamps on his shoes, in
order to prevent himself from slipping. As he suffered
terribly from broken chilblains, his heels became in such
a state that the blood stained the snow as he walked along,
penetrating through his stockings and gaiters. One night
he arrived, with his cousin, Louis, at a village where all
the doors were closed against him. In vain they knocked
and entreated for admission ; the inhabitants, who had
been prejudiced against them, refused to give them shelter;
they crept into the village oven, which was still warm, and
there slept.

On the 17th July, he preached a wonderful sermon at
Thonon on the mediation of Jesus Christ. He showed his
hearers that the Catholic Church, so far from destroying
this doctrine, as the Protestant asserted, based her whole
system upon it.

During the early portion of the Chablais mission, Francis
of Sales was sent by the Pope's command to Theodore
Beza the reformer, a learned man, then living at Geneva.
A great effort was to be made to bring about his conver-

ii< _ ^

^ _— ^

454 Lives of the Saints. [January 29.

sion. But no arguments availed, and on parting, Beza
politely said: "You have convinced me of one thing that
I did not believe before — that a Catholic can be saved."
Francis reported his ill-success to the Pope and asked for
further instructions. These instructions came. The Pope
offered to buy Beza's conversion at the price of 4000 gold
crowns, and a lump sum down of twice the value of his
personal property. One wonders as much at Francis con-
descending to make this abominable offer, as at Clement
Vm having the effrontery to require it of him. At the
insulting offer, Beza's aged face kindled with wrath. He
pointed to his empty bookshelves whose precious contents
had been sold to provide for the necessities of Huguenot
refugees from France, and opening the door for his guest,
bade him quit, exclaiming, " Vade retro, Sathanas ! "

Francis now thought it high time to act in a different
manner, and if there were no persuading or convincing the
people of the Chablais by argument, to use constraint to
force them to enter the Church. From his own words we
can see that his mission had been a wretched failure.

According to the breviary lesson for his feast, he suc-
ceeded within a few years in converting 72,000 persons,
which is a remarkable miracle, as the whole population of
the Chablais at the time did not amount to more than
41,000. The estimate is made by comparing the census
of 1558 with that of 1694. On the one hand we are
assured that none could resist his eloquent appeals to
return to the bosom of the Mother Church, on the other
hand we have Francis's own testimony that the results of
his mission before the pike was brought into play were
almost nil.

In 1596, in November, he crossed the Alps for a personal
interview with the Duke at Turin, and he produced a pro-
gramme which was to be sanctioned by the Duke and

ii<- — ^

January 29.] S. Fraiicis of Salcs. 455

Council, and which, if carried out, would effectually alter
the complexion of affairs in the Chablais. He asked to be
given one of the churches in Thonon in which to say Mass;
also the appointment of priests and schoolmasters at fixed
revenues, throughout the province : then the revenues now
absorbed by the Calvinist ministers to be taken from them
and restored to the Church. Further, that the Protestant
pastor of Thonon should be expelled; that Protestants,
after a short time, should be deprived of their public offices,
and Catholics appointed in their place; that promises of
promotion should be held out to the young men who would
change their religion. That gratuities should be paid to
all converts, and that Protestant books should be burnt.
There were other requirements, but these are the principal.

The Council at once and peremptorily objected to this
proposal as perfidious. The Duke was bound by the treaty
of Nyon. He must not go against his pledges. But the
Duke was high-handed ; he cleared the Council chamber,
and granted the Saint if not all, yet a good deal, of what
he desired.

On his return to Thonon, he at once set to work to
transform S. Hippolyte into a Catholic church, in spite of
the remonstrance of the magistrates, whom he overawed by
an exhibition of the Duke's commission, and on Christmas
Day he had the satisfaction of saying Mass in the church,
though before a scanty congregation of not over a dozen.
By next Christmas Day the number of communicants had
swelled to 800.

In 1597, the aged Bishop of Geneva arrived to administer
confirmation for the first time for sixty-three years in
Thonon. Three hundred of the inhabitants of Bellevaux
arrived, begging for admission into the Catholic Church,
The inhabitants of S. Cergue arrived next, bearing at their
head the village processional cross, which had been con-

->b

456

Lives of the Saints.

[January 29.

cealed behind a partition wall during the period of Cal-
vinist domination. Then came the people of Bonneville.
Whole villages embraced the opportunity of returning to
the faith of their fathers. But these conversions were
not wholly due to the labours of Francis. They were
inspired by hope of release from taxation, promised
them if they proved amenable to reason, by President
Favre, who had also gone his missionary rounds with
promises of bribes, and threats of chastisement to the
stubborn.

But the work of reconversion was not proceeding expedi-
tiously enough to satisfy Francis, and he urged the Duke
to come in person to Thonon : " It is necessary," said the
Saint, " to scatter terror throughout the whole population
by wholesome edicts."

The Duke, at the recommendation of Francis, sent him
troopers — the infamous Martinengo regiment of Spanish
soldiers, notorious for their atrocities committed in the
Vaudois valleys. They arrived unexpected by all save
Francis. " Great was the people's surprise," says Marsol-
lier, the biographer of the Saint, " when tney beheld the
arrival at Thonon, without previous notice, of the regiment
of the count of Martinengo, Lieutenant-General of the
Duke's armies, who took lodgings in the town to await
orders. The officers called in a body on Francis, and
informed him that their orders were to do nothing except
in co-operation with him."

Two pastors fled from Thonon across the lakes to the
Canton of Vaud, where they were received as martyrs, and
well provided for ; one other had his head cleft by a sabre.
This was the only murder or act of overt barbarity com-
mitted by these ruffians in the Chablais, but they were
billeted about, and knew how to make their presence in-
tolerable. The stubborn were crushed with taxes, whilst

->^

January 29.] .S", Fraiicls of ScllcS. 457

exemptions and promotions were lavished on the com-
plaisant.

In the autumn of 1598, the Duke himself, at the request
of Francis, entered the Chablais and went from village to
village and harangued his subjects. " He caressed those
who abjured heresy, and made them presents ; he assured
them that he would always love them tenderly as his chil-
dren ; and by this means, by the favours he granted to the
converts, he managed to draw over a host of others who
looked to obtain the same advantages. . . . He visited in
person the whole of the Chablais, and he assembled the
principal inhabitants of the parishes, and announced to
them that he desired all his subjects to profess the Catholic
faith ; he represented to them that as there is one God and
one Church, he would never suffer two religions to co-exist
in his estates." This statement is from a MS. account of
their missions in the Chablais by the Capuchins, published
by Gaberel.

Finally, the Duke visited Thonon in person. What
follows shall be given in the words of Mr. Nevins, a
Roman Catholic writer :

Order had been already given for the total suppression
of Protestant gatherings for worship throughout the Chab-
lais. " The day after this order was given, the Duke
ordered the Protestants to assemble in the Town Hall,
and lined the streets and Place with the accursed Mar-
tinengo regiment."

Secret preparations were made for a treacherous night
assault on Geneva, at a time when peace reigned between
Savoy and the Republic. It was plotted for the dark night,
iith-i2th December 1602. Two hundred troops of Savoy
advanced unperceived on the town, and the Duke himself
hovered in the neighbourhood. Before three in the morn-
ing the walls had already been escaladed by two hundred

^_ _,j,

458

Lives of the Saints. [January 29.

men, who made the attempt to burst open the new gate
from the inside. The burghers, taken by surprise as they
were, and half naked, nevertheless rushed to arms with
alacrity, slew seventy-six of the Savoyards, and took thirteen
prisoners, whom they straightway hanged : the rest en-
deavoured to save themselves by leaping from the walls.
The refugees fled to the Duke, who was hourly expecting
news of their success. " Vous avez fait la une belle ca-
gade ! " were the words he used to D'Aubigny, the leader
of the expedition. One of the exasperating sights that met
the Duke's eye as he rode homeward through Annecy, was
a long train of sumpter-mules sent by his orders from
Turin, laden with church furniture, and with eighty hun-
dredweight of wax candles to be used in the decoration
and illumination of S. Peter's at Geneva, when its Prince-
Bishop should celebrate mass at Christmas in his own
cathedral.

Had the escalade proved successful, the horrors of the
sack of Magdeburg would have been paralleled, if not
exceeded, by the horrors of the sack of Geneva.

So Francis never had the happiness on which he had
counted, of pontificating in the cathedral of the rebellious
city.

We will now look at Francis in a better light — as a
prudent and good organiser of his diocese, and a sympa-
thetic director of souls. It must be insisted on that he
was absolutely sincere in his convictions, consistent m his
life, tender-hearted towards individuals who did not cross
him ; the blemishes in his life were due to his education
and his surroundings.

Now that he was Bishop of Geneva, he set to work to
obtain an instructed and earnest clergy. At that period
there were no seminaries. He undertook the supervision
and in a large measure the instruction of the candidates

January 29.] S. Fraiicis of SulcS. 459

himself. He would ordain no man unless he felt confi-
dent that his heart was in his work. " I do not want
many priests so much as thoroughly good priests," he
said. He insisted that in every church on Sundays there
should be plain catechizing in the Christian verities ; and
he was specially urgent on his clergy not to stuff their
sermons with great swelling words, but to speak to
their flocks straight out of their hearts in plain and
homely words.

He was never weary of making visitations throughout
the diocese : not a valley, however remote, into which he
did not penetrate.

In 1599, S. Francis was appointed coadjutor bishop of
Geneva. The continual disputes between France and Savoy
were at length adjusted by a treaty contracted at Lyons, by
which the latter government yielded to the former the
province of Gex to the north of the lake of Geneva, contain-
ing thirty-seven parishes, with about 30,000 inhabitants.
S. Francis visited Paris in 1602, and persuaded Henry IV.
to re-establish the exercise of the Catholic religion throughout
Gex, wherever there were a sufficient number of Catholics ;
only the king stipulated that this should be done gradually,
so as to avoid giving alarm to the Protestants.

Francis now returned to Savoy, where the failing health of
the aged Bishop of Geneva made it necessary for him to be
present. Some time previous to his death, he had the
consolation of celebrating the jubilee at Thonon, by which
the history of the conversion of the Chablais was wound up.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims of all ranks, in companies
preceded by cross and banner, poured from all the country
round, making the Alpine valleys resound with their pious
chants, as they thanked God for having brought tliem out of
darkness into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
More than a hundred confessors were engaged continually

460 Lives of the Saints. [January 29.

at the tribunal of penance; and altogether 62,000 com-
munions were made in the church of Thonon. On Dec.
8th, 1602, Francis was consecrated bishop, and appointed
to the see of Geneva, in the parish church of Thonon.

The hrst business which Francis undertook after he was
settled at Annecy, the seat of the Bishops of Geneva, after
their expulsion by the Calvinists from the city of Geneva,
was to establish a confraternity of Christian Doctrine, and to
make catechetical instruction his strongest point. He heard
the classes himself every Sunday. A more interesting sight
there could not be than to behold him, seated in front of the
altar, teaching the little ones, the girls on one side, and the
boys on the other. Twice in the year he made a festival for
the children, and went through the city with them proces-
sionally, singing Litanies. The influence of his kindness
over them was so great, that he never came forth, without the
children running out from every nook and comer of the
streets to ask his blessing or kiss his robe. Wlien some
friends complained of the troops of them who followed him,
he said gently, " Suffer them to come, they are my own
dear litde people."

In 1603, when he was preaching the Lent course of ser-
mons at Dijon, by invitation of the magistrates, he made the
acquaintance of Jane Frances of Chantal, in combination
with whom he afterwards founded the Order of the Visitation.
In 1605 and 1606, he made a general visitation of his whole
diocese, undergoing great fatigue, and often danger, in tra-
versing the Alpine districts, which formed the greatest part
of it, and everywhere preaching, catechizing, and hearing
confessions. In 16 18, Francis was chosen by the Duke of
Savoy to accompany an embassy to Paris to negotiate the
marriage of his son with the daughter of Henry IV., and sister
of Louis XIII. The negotiations of the embassy lasted for
nearly a year, during which Francis received incessant invi-

_ ^

S. ALDEGL'XI). After Caliier.

Jan., p. 460.]

[Jan. 30.

^ — qi

January 29.] S. Fraiicis of SalcS. 46 I

tations to preach, which he did ahiiost daily, the people
never tiring of listening to him. The secret of his power
lay in the exquisite charm of divine grace which radiated
from him. The churches were so crowded, that it more
than once happened that a ladder had to be brought for the
preacher to enter by the window, the doors being completely
blocked up. People ran to gaze at him, or to touch his
robe as he passed in the streets. Cardinal de Retz, Bishop
of Paris, had set his heart on having him as his coadjutor,
and offered him a rich pension, the entire control of his
diocese, and the appointment of his brother, John Francis,
to succeed him at Geneva, if he would consent to come;
but all was in vain.

By degrees the whole of the territory of Gex was catholi-
cized, and Francis had the felicity of continually organizing
fresh parishes which had submitted to the Catholic Church.
Towards the close of 1622, he was invited to attend the Duke
of Savoy at Avignon, where he was to meet Louis XIII.
Francis had a presentiment that this journey would be his
last ; but he did not think it right to decline the invitation
of his sovereign. Accordingly he made preparation, with the
utmost calmness, as if to return no more. He made his will,
and gave directions concerning his funeral, which he desired
should be modest On November 8th he bade farewell to
his friends and started next day. At Lyons a trifling inci-
dent happened, which is worth relating, as an example of
his sweet and gentle demeanour. As he was going on board
the boat, the ferryman refused to receive him wthout his
passport. When his attendants were angry at the delay, the
bishop remarked, " Let him alone, he knows the duties of a
boatman ; we have forgotten that of a traveller." He had
to wait an hour for the passport in a bitterly cold wind.
When at last they got on board, he went and sat by
the boatman, observing, " I wish to make friends with

If,

462

Lives of the Saints.

[January 29.

-ih

this good man, and to talk to him a little of our Blessed
Lord."

At Avignon he held aloof from all the magniiicence which
the re-union of two courts in that splendid age so lavishly-
displayed, and spent his time in prayer, and in conference
with religious persons. On his way home he remained at
Lyons, very ill. Nevertheless he said his midnight Mass on
Christmas morning and preached on the day with great fer-
vour. He then heard confessions, and said his third Mass
shortly before noon, after which he broke his fast. Then he
gave the habit to two novices, preached, received a number
of visitors, and waited on the Queen, Marie de Medicis, who
was to leave Lyons next day. Yet he was actually a dying
man when he thus crowded such astonishing exertions into
one day. Next day, the Feast of S. Stephen, he bade his
last farewell to the nuns of the Visitation, the order he had
founded. On the following morning he confessed, said
Mass, and gave the Holy Communion to the nuns. The
Superioress noticed his altered looks. Outside the church
he was detained talking to some noblemen. It was cold
and foggy, and he felt a chill. By the time he got home he
was excessively fatigued and ill ; but he sat down to write
letters, and received several visitors. On their departure his
servant came in, and began to tell him about a sermon he
had heard, in which the preacher exhorted the Queen to love
her servants. Francis said, " And you, do you love me ?"
The good servant could not speak for weeping, seeing how
deadly ill he looked. The saint continued : " And I, too,
love you well ; but let us love God above all." As he said
these words he sank back in a fit. Next day the physicians
resorted to all the expedients used in the barbarous surgery
of the age, blisters on the head, the application of a hot
iron to the nape of the neck, and a red-hot ball pressed on
tlie crown till it burnt to the bone. He gradually sank after

*—

January 29.] ►S". FvaUcis of Scl/cS.

these operations, and his lips moving in prayer, when unable
to utter words, those in attendance knelt and recited the
" Recommendation for a departing soul," during which his
gentle spirit departed to its rest.

The body, after having been embalmed, was removed to
Annecy, and reposes in the Church of the Visitation.

>ii-

464

Lives of the Saiiits.

[January 3 a

January 30.

S. Serina, Af., at Melx, a.d 503.

S. Sabina <jr Savina, //'., in the Milanese, beginning of ^th cent

S. Barsas, B.C., of Edessa, circ. a.d. 371.

S. Felix, Pope, a.d. 530.

S. Aldegund, y., at Maubeuge in France, circ. a.d. 680.

S. Adelelm, ^b., at Burgos, circ. a.d. iioo.

S. Hyacintha, F., at yiterbo, a.d. 1640.

S. BARSAS, B.C. OF EDESSA.
(about a.d. 371.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : Theodoret, Hist. Eccks. lib. iv.c. 16.]

jiARSES or Barsas, Bishop of Edessa was banished
by the Arian Emperor Valens to the Isle of
Aradus ; but when it was found that multitudes
resorted to him, for he was filled with apostolic
gifts, the emperor sent him to Oxyrynchus, a city of Egypt
But as his fame still attracted attention, he was banished to
a greater distance; and this old man, "who was worthy of
heaven, was then conveyed to the fortress called Philce,
situated on the frontier of the barbarian nations."

S. ALDEGUND, V.
(a.d. 680.)

[Roman and many ancient Martyrologies ; by others on Jan. 27th, or
Nov. 13th, but these were probably days of translation of relics. Au-
thorities ; a life by a contemporary quoted in an anonymous life compiled
from already existing notices ; another by one Hugbald, and another by a
monk of S. Ghislain.J

The blessed Aldegund was the daughter of Waldbert,
Count of Hainault Her whole heart was given to Christ

January 30.] S. Acielelm. 465

whom she chose as her heavenly bridegroom. Her parents,
moved by her example, renounced the world, and distri-
buted their wealth among the poor. After their death, in
the year 66 1, Aldegund took the veil, and retired into the
forest of Maubeuge where she built a convent, and became
the first abbess. When her fair fame was attacked by
wicked slanders, so that she suffered agonies of grief, she
struggled hard to submit to the hand of God, and at last,
bowing completely to His will, she desired that He would
try her with ever keener sufferings, to perfect her by afflic-
tion. She was shortly after attacked with cancer in the
breast, from which she died on Jan. 30th, a.d. 680.

S. ADELELM, AB. OF BURGOS.

(about a.d. HOG.)

[Authority : his life by Rudolf the rr.onk, who died 1137. S. Adelelm is
called also Elesmo or Elmo ; and is not to be confounded with another
Adelelm or Elmo, who is only beatified.]

S. Adelelm was a noble of Lyons in France, and served
in the army, till God called him to a higher walk, then he re-
nounced the world, and became a monk in the Abbey of
Chaise-Dieu, after a visit to Rome. He was ordained priest
by Ranco, Bishop of the Auvergne, but when he heard that
the bishop had been suspended for having simonically ob-
tained the see, he refused to execute the priestly office, till a
successor was appointed. To see him, Adelelm started one
stormy night. The way was dark, and the tempest raged with
such fury that, but that it was necessary, he would not have
started then. However, he took a candle, lighted it, and
gave it to his comrade, and bade him lead the way. Not-
withstanding the violence of the gale, the flame burnt steady,
though not enclosed in a lantern, and illumined their road.

VOL. L 30

^66 Lives of the Saints. [January 30.

From this, the electric lights seen at mastheads are called by
sailors in the Mediterranean S. Elmo's lights. He was after-
wards invited to Spain, and he was chosen abbot of his
order in the monastery of Burgos, where he died.

S. HYACINTHA, V.
{a.d. 1640.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : the Bull of her Canonization.]

S. Hyacintha was the daughter of Mark Anthony Maris-
cotti, Count of Vignanello, and of Octavia Orsini ; she was
born in 1588, and received in baptism the name of Clarissa,
which she exchanged for that of Hyacintha on entering the
cloister.

In her eariiest childhood she was remarkable for her piety,
but as she grew older she became giddy and frivolous. In
her 17th year she was, one day, playing with the rope of a well
at Vignanello, when she slipped over the edge, and hung, en-
tangled in the rope, which held her some minutes suspended
above the horrible pit, till a servant, observing her peril, from
the castle window, ran to her assistance, and rescued her.
The shock of this accident seemed for a while to steady
her. She shortly after fell in love, and a marriage was
projected, but when, through family circumstances, it was
broken off, Clarissa would hear of nothing but of taking
the veil, and burying her broken heart in a convent.
Her father refused at first, but yielding at length to her
sentimental vehemence, which he mistook for real vocation,
allowed her to take the veil in the convent of S. Bernardine
at Viterbo.

In the convent her heart soon healed, and she became an
annoyance to the whole sisterhood by her vanity and frivolity.

S. MARCELLA.
After an Engraving of the SeventeL-iith Century.

Jan., p. 466.]

[Jan. 31.

/Hnuar/3o.] S. Hyocifitka. 467

After ten years, she fell ill, and sent for her confessor. He,
knowing her character, and wearied with her shallowness,
sharply rebuked her with, "Beware, Hyacintha, heaven is
no place for giddy-pates !" His words startled her, and she
cried out, " Am I then lost for ever."

" No," he answered, " not if you seek pardon for your
sins of the just and merciful God, with sincere resolution
of amendment, and cease to be a scandal and worry to the
poor sisters of this house, by your emptiness and light talk,
and worldly ways." Bursting into a flood of tears, she
promised amendment sent for all the sisters, and humbly
asked their pardon, and prayers. Then she cast herself at
her confessor's feet, and made a sincere confession. She
now completely changed her life; she would not wear shoes,
and only put on the meanest dress. She strove manfully to
overcome the purposelessness of her life and the feebleness
of her will ; and as she gradually mastered herself and her
vanity, there broke on that soul, so long entangled in a fog
of petty cares and pleasures, the burning sun of the love of
Jesus, filling her -with reality, earnestness, and devotion. Ln
after years her character was completely the reverse of what
it had been, was full of dignity and meekness, and above
all, had a purpose in it. In a time of want, she founded
two institutions, one for the secret relief of decayed gentle-
folks, suffering, but too proud to ask alms, or display their
misery; the other a hospital for old people. Both societies,
known under the name of the Oblates of S. Mary, exist to
this day at Viterbo.

The mercy of God rewarded this poor servant, and she
was given singular privileges, a remarkable gift of prayer,
and a discernment of spirits, that is, she could read the
troubles of hearts. She died in the year 1640, calling on
the sacred names of Jesus and Mary, in the 55th year of her
age.

468

Lives of the Saints.

[January 30,

She was beatified by Benedict XIII., in 1726, and canon-
ized by Pius VII., on May 24th, 1807.

This is one of those instances of the love and fore-thought
of the Church in holding up to every class of mind and
sort of temptation, an example of salvation in it. We have
seen her fearlessness in exliibiting S. James the hermit to the
fallen religious, here she shows to the thoughtless and giddy
female mind, that for it Jesus thirsts in spite of its emptiness,
and tliat for it there is sanctity if it will try to seek it.

■7/

if/

Vu'gin in Crescent, after Albert Durer.

S. ULPHIA. From Cahier.

Jan., p. 468.]

[Jan. 31

»J« — >J«

januaT7 3'.] SS. Cyvus a7id yohn. 469

January 31.

S.S. Cyrus, John, Athanasia and Othurs, MM. in Egypt a.d. ajo.

S. Geminian, B. of Modena, in Italy.

S. Julius P, and Julian D., at No-vara, in Italy, beginning of $th cent.

S. Marcella, H^., at Rome, a.d. 410.

S. Patrcclus, B.M., In France.

S. Gaud, B., of E-vreux in Normandy, cire. a-d. S31.

S. Aidan or Maidoc, B., of Ferns, in Ireland, beginning of Tth cent.

S. Adamnan-, p., of Coldingham, end of "jth cent.

S. Ulphia, F., at Amiens, Sih cent.

S. Athanasius, B., of Methone in the Peloporusui, gth cent.

S. EusEBlus, Monk of S. Gall in Siuitxerland, a.d. 884.

S. Martin, P., of Sour e near Coimbra, in Portugal, a.d. 1147.

S. Serapion, a/., among the Moors, a.d., 1240.

S. Peter Nolasco, C, in Spain, a.d. 1256.

S.S. CYRUS, JOHN AND OTHERS, MM., IN

EGYPT.

(a.d. 250.)

[Commemorated by Greeks, Latins, and Copts on the same day
Authority : ancient Greek Acts.]

|YRUS, a physician of Alexandria, who, by the
opportunities which his profession gave him, had
converted many sick persons to the faith ; and
John, an Arabian, hearing that a lady, called
Athanasia, and her three daughters, Theodosia, Theoctista
and Eudoxia, of whom the eldest was only fifteen years of
age, had suffered torments at Canope in Egypt for the name
of Christ, went thither to console them. They were them-
selves apprehended and cruelly beaten; their sides were
burnt with torches, and salt and vinegar were poured into
their wounds in the presence of Anastasia and her daughters,
who were also tortured after them. At length the four ladies,
and a few days after, Cyrus and John, were beheaded, the
two latter on this day.

VOL. I. 30 *

470

Lives of the Saints.

[January 31,

S. MARCELLA, W.
(a.d. 410.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : the Letters of S. Jerome.]
Marcella, a young widow, whose name alone is enough to
recall the best days of the Roman republic, and whose rare
beauty, enhanced by the long and illustrious line of her ances-
tors, drew around her numerous suitors, rejected the suit of
Cerealtis, the consul, and resolved to imitate the lives of the
ascetics of the East. Afterwards, when S. Jerome came to
Rome to renew the instructions and narratives of those holy
men by adding to them the living commentary of his own
life, Marcella, with her mother Albinia, and her sister Asella,
placed herself at the head of that select number of illustrious
matrons who took him as their guide and oracle. She
astonished the holy doctor by her knowledge of the Divine
Scriptures, she fatigued him by her thirst always to know
more of them than he could teach her; she made him
afraid to find in her a judge rather than a disciple. In her
palace on Mount Aventine, she collected, under the
presidency of Jerome, the most pious among the noble
ladies, for mutual strength and enlightenment. After having
thus first given to Rome the true model of a Christian
widow, she passed the last thirty years of her life in her
suburban villa transformed into a monastery. The Goths
under Alaric plundered Rome in 410. S. Marcella was
scourged by them to deliver up her treasures, which however
she had long before distributed among the poor. All the
while she was in anguish of soul for her dear spiritual child
Principia, and falling at the feet of the cruel soldiers, she
tearfully implored them to spare her insult. They conducted
them both to the Church of S. Paul, to which Alaric had
granted the right of sanctuary, and suffered the beautiful
young nun Principia to remain unmolested. S. Marcella did

S. PETER NOLASCO, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER

OF OUR LADY OF MERCY FOR THE

REDEMPTION OF CAPTIVES.

From Cahier.

Jan., p. 470.]

[Jan. 31.

-li"

January 31.] S. A iduU. 471

not survive this long, but died peacefully in the arms of
Principia, about the end of August, 410, but her name occurs
in the Roman Martyrology on Jan. 31st.

S. AIDAN OR MAIDOC, B., OF FERNS.
(about a.d. 632.)

[S. Aidan of Fems is not to be confounded with the illustrious S. Aidan
of Lindisfarne, the apostle of Northumbria, who is commemorated on Aug.
31st. The name seems to have been a very common one in Ireland, for
Colgan asserts that there are in the ancient Irish Martyrologies as many as
thirty-five Saints of this name. Authority : an ancient life from Kilkenny,
but certainly not more ancient than the 12th cent.]

S. Maidoc or Aidan was the son of Setna, a noble of Con-
naught, by his wife Edna ; who, having for a long time no heir,
sought that blessing from God by alms-deeds and prayers ;
which was at last granted. This child of prayer was born in
the island called Innis-Breagh-muigh, in a lake in the diocese
of Kilmore, and from his childhood declined evil and fol-
lowed that which is good. After having learnt the first
rudiments of piety in his own country, he left home, and
sailed into Britain, to place himself under the discipUne of
the great S. David of Menevia. With that holy man he
remained many years, and was one of his favourite disciples.
A remarkable instance of his prompt obedience is related.
Being called by a superior from reading his book in the
field near the monastery, to follow a pair of oxen at the
plough, he made such haste to obey, that he left his book
open in the field, a heavy shower of rain fell, but when he
recovered the book it was not wet. S. David had seen him
leave the volume open before the rain fell, and calling him
to him, bade him prostrate himself as a punishment for
having, as he supposed, by his carelessness, spoiled a valu-
able book. S. Maidoc at once obeyed, and S. David went

472

Lives of the Saints.

[January 31.

-^^

about his work and forgat him. After some hours, when
the office was being said, he observed that Maidoc was not
present. Then he sent in quest of him, and he was found
prostrate on the sea shore, where his master had bidden
him He, and he had not risen, because S. David had not
removed his penance.

At length, with the blessing of his master, taking with
him other religious of Menevia, he returned to Ireland,
where he founded many churches and monasteries ; of which
the chief was Ferns to which he was consecrated first
Bishop. The prodigies related of him, are like so many in
the lives of the Irish Saints, quite incredible, as for instance,
his having driven to Rome and back in twenty- four hours,
his having fed six wolves with six sheep and then restored
the sheep whole ; his having brought a sea-cow out of the
ocean to draw his plough, and having returned from a visit
to S. David in Wales on the back of a sea-monster ; his
having called his bell, which he had left behind him Wales,
and it came over the waves with prompitude.

All these are fables, which accumulated in process of
time about the lives of the Irish Saints, before they were
committed to writing.

S. ULPHIA V.

(8th cent.)

[From the life of S. Domitius, October 23rd ; and from an ancient life
of the Saint.]

The blessed Ulphia was the daughter of noble parents
in Gaul, she was singularly beautiful in face and graceful in
person ; consequently she was sought by many suitors, but,
with her father's consent she vowed to observe perpetual
chastity. At the age of twenty-five she received the veil
from the hands of the Bishop of Amiens, and then she re-
tired to S. Acheuil at some little distance from the city,

* »J<

January 31.] S. Ulpkla. 473

where she ministered to S. Domitius, an aged hermit and
canon of Amiens. The old man was wont to knock at the
door of her little hut as he passed on his way to matins,
and she rose and accompanied him. Now the place was
marshy and many frogs inhabited the pools. One night
they sang so shrilly that Ulphia could not sleep, but tossed
on her couch, and drew her serge-habit about her ears, with-
out being able to stop their voices from penetrating her brain
and keeping her awake. After many hours she fell asleep.
Shortly after, Domitius came by and rapped with his slick at
the door. There was no answer, so he called, " Ulphia, my
child, get up !" Then he rapped louder than before. Still
there was no answer, so he called, " Ulphia, my child, the
second watch of the night is past." As he received no an-
swer, he supposed she had gone on before. But when he
reached the church, he looked round, and he saw her not.
And when matins was over, he returned in haste and fear,
thinking something had befallen his dear child. But when
he came to the cell, Ulphia stood in the door. Then she
reproached him for not having called her. " I did call thee,
I knocked loud," said the old man. "It was the frogs'
doing !" exclaimed Ulphia, and she told him how they had
kept her awake half the night. Then casting herself on the
ground, she prayed to God to quiet the noisy frogs ; and
Domitius knelt beside her and said, Amen. After that the
reptiles troubled her no more.

When she was dying she prayed, " Saviour ! sanctify, con-
firm, keep, rule, strengthen, comfort me; and in the end
bring me to Thy sempiternal joys." And when the two
virgins who had watched by her had said Amen, she fell
asleep, and they left her. At dawn, one of them looked in
and saw that she was dead, and in dying she had crossed
her hands upon her breast, her face was bright and her Ups
as though she smiled,

i^— ij,

474 Lives of the Saints. [January 31.

S. SERAPION, M.
(a.d. 1240.)

He was an Englishman, whom S. Peter Nolasco received
into his Order at Barcelona. He made two journeys among
the Moors for the ransoming of captives, in 1240. The
first was to Murcia, in which he purchased the liberty of
ninety-eight slaves ; the second to Algiers, in which he re-
deemed eighty-seven, but remained himself a hostage for
the full payment of the money. He boldly preached Christ
to the Mahometans, and baptised several, for which he was
cruelly tortured, scourged, cut and mangled, at length
fastened to a cross, and was thereon stabbed and quartered
alive in the same year, 1240.

S. PETER NOLASCO, C.
(a.d. 1256.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority : life by P'ranciscus Zumel.]

Peter Nolasco sprang from one of the first families of
Languedoc. He v/as born in the year 11 89, in the village
of Mas des Saintes Pucelles. His pious parents took pains
to give him a good education, and to cultivate the germs of
virtue which appeared early in his soul. They saw with
gladness his compassion for the poor, and his love of prayer.
The child was wont to distribute his pocket-money in
alms, and he went regularly to the matin office sung
shortly after midnight. \Vhen he was aged 15, he lost his
father, who left him heir to a large estate, but he remained
with his mother, a pious woman, who laboured to strengthen
and confirm in him those graces which grew and expanded
daily. Being solicited to marry, he remained some little
v/hile in hesitation, but at last, rising one night he cast him-

* — >^

January 31.] ^. Peter Nulasco. 475

self before his crucifix in prayer, and remained till day
broke in the east, imploring God's guidance, and then feeling
a clear call, he resolved to devote his patrimony to the
honour and glory of God, and himself to celibacy. He
followed Simon de Montfort, in the crusade against the
Albigenses, an heretical, or rather heathen sect, holding two
Gods, one good, the other evil, and who had devastated
Navarre, burning churches and massacring priests and
monks. The crusade was conducted with too much of
worldly ambition, and without that compassionate love which
should seek to win by gentleness rather than force by the
sword. But the cruel massacres which took place were not
the work of the crusaders, but of a mixed multitude of
camp-followers, who obeyed no officers but such as they
chose to appoint, as appears from the contemporary ac-
counts of that war. However, Peter Nolasco was in no
way responsible for the barbarities which sullied this terrible
war. In the battle of Muset, the King of Aragon, who
headed the Albigenses, was killed, and his son, aged six, fell
into the hands of Simon de Montfort, who appointed Peter
Nolasco, then aged twenty-five, to be his tutor, and sent
both together into Spain. In the court of the King of
Barcelona, where the Kings of Aragon resided, Peter led
the life of a recluse. The Moors at that time were pos-
sessed of a considerable portion of Spain, and great
numbers of Christians groaned under their tyranny in
miserable slavery both there and in Africa. Whenever
Peter saw a Christian slave, he was moved with sorrow ; and
he resolved to devote his life to the redemption of captives.
He endeavoured to found a religious order for a constant
supply of men and means whereby to carry on so charit-
able an undertaking. This design met with great obstacles
in the execution ; but the Blessed Virgin appearing to the
king, S. Raymund of Pennaforte, and S. Peter Nolasco, the

^ ■ ■■ ^

476 Lives of the SahltS. [January 31.

same night, in visions, encouraged the prosecution of this
charitable scheme.

In the year 1223 S. Peter took the vows before the
Bishop of Barcelona, and he became first general of the
new order, which was entided " the Order of Our Lady of
Mercy for the redemption of captives." It was confirmed
by Pope Gregory IX. in 1225. The habit is white, with a
white scapular, and the arms of Aragon were worn on the
breast, by desire of the king.

S. Peter, after his religious profession, renounced all his
business at court, and no entreaties of the king could prevail
on him to appear there again, except once, when called to
reconcile two powerful nobles, who by their dissension had
kindled a civil war.

He made several journeys along the coasts, and to Algiers
to purchase captives ; on one of these expeditions he under-
went imprisonment for the faith. He died on Christmas
day, 1286. Almost his last words were those of the
Psalmist.which summed up the efibrts of his life, " The Lord
hath sent redemption unto His people ; He hath com-
manded His covenant for ever."

END OF VOL. I.

Printed by F.allantyne, Hansom b' Co.
at Paul's Work, Edinburgh

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Full text of "The lives of the saints. With introd. and additional lives of English martyrs, Cornish, Scottish, and Welsh saints, and a full index to the entire work"

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